Danganronpa: The Cruise of Hope and Despair
by JessJess1818
Summary: 16 students wake up on a cruise, isolated in the ocean, and unable to be located. And in order to be rescued, a bear named Monokuma, and a rabbit named Monomi, tell them they have to kill each other. What's going on? How did they end up like this? (SYOC CLOSED)
1. Prologue

**Not necessarily a rewrite, but a few tweaks were added. (9-21-17) Welcome to Cruise of Hope and Despair!**

* * *

 _Hope's Peak Academy_ , Chiari thought. _I never thought I'd ever be here. An ordinary teenager like me…_

Chiari was accepted to Hope's Peak Academy because she was picked from a lottery of ordinary students to come here, and called her the, "SHSL Lucky Student".

Her light mahogany hair was put into a low, messy bun, along with dull green eyes, and pale skin. She wore a normal light gray T-shirt with an olive colored hoodie, which hid the the fact that she had large breasts. She also wore boot cut jeans and hiking boots. A yellow hair bow tie was attached to her hair, and she had glasses to see well. At least, that's what she usually wears.

It was said that, "if you come here, you'll be set for life". At least that is what has been going around. Chiari leaned against the gates, trying to calm herself down from nervousness. Even when she was prepared.

 _"Wow, I didn't know so many people were talented with a variety of weird talents!" Chiari's younger brother, Eiji said, as they were looking at student's information on a thread. The computer made rumbling noises as usual as Chiari selected and clicked numerous times with the mouse, as she wanted to get to know as many SHSL students as possible._

 _"I know right? And I'm going there soon!" Chiari said, not meaning to brag. She looked down at her little brother, and gave a warm smile._

 _"So, will you miss me?" Eiji asked, twirling his thumbs and looked up at her with sad puppy dog eyes._

 _Chiari giggled and said, "Of course! I'll miss you too! You're also going to school soon!" Eiji smiled and jumped on her._

 _"Promise?" Eiji asked as he sat on Chiari's lap._

 _"Pinky promise," Chiari said as they crossed their pinkies together._

* * *

"Well, looks like nobody's coming. I guess either they're late or early," Chiari sighed, as she picked up her bag full of books, and walked through the gates, looking for a new **hope**. Little did she know, she was about to experience pure **despair**.

She opened the doors of the well-kept school. _Huh,_ Chiari thought. _Guess I'm too early. Well, that's what I get for getting too anxious_. As she took the first step inside, her vision blurred, her head throbbed, and then… darkness. Well, in a simpler term, she collapsed. After a few minutes, which seemed like forever, Chiari started to wake up. Her vision was still blurry, her head still throbbed, and was still lying on what seemed like a wooden floor.

 _What- what's happening?_

 _Why am I…?_

 _Why do I hear waves?_

 _Why is it so bright and sunny?_

Chiari snapped out of her daze suddenly, and screamed softly as she scooted rapidly to a wall. The reason for that is because of a sudden, loud ding in her pocket. She wildly searched her pockets to find a weird tablet the size of a whole hand. She turned it on. The Hope's Peak Academy crest shined on the blue screen, and on the corner, it said "e Handbook". After the crest was there for a while, Chiari saw her personal information and a variety of menu options.

"What? Where did they find my information? Why was this in my pocket? And… I don't remember taking this photo!" Chiari mumbled surprisingly.

 **Chiari Yamamoto**

 **SHSL: Lucky Student**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Birth Date: October 30** **th** **(Libra)**

 **Height: 5'5 ft. (165 cm)**

 **Weight: 120 lbs. (54.5 kg)**

 **Blood Type: O+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Food, Video Games, Friends, French Macarons**

 **Dislikes: Being Lonely, Dishonest People, Meat (She's a vegetarian)**

Chiari shook her head and looked up, she apparently was on the deck of a cruise boat. A humungous cruise boat in fact. Maybe an estimate of 5 floors and a basement. The endless blue waves crashed onto the bright, white boat, and the sun was beaming onto her skin. It felt… peaceful.

"Guess I'd better find some people," she said as she weakly stood up. She held her throbbing head as she walked on the isolated deck, only to find a person collapsed next to the cruise waterslide.

* * *

 **I've seen a lot of SYOC's lately, and now I'm inspired and I want to make one of my own. Do not enter if you're impatient because updates will be slow. (I'm lazy XD) Bear with me because this is my first fanfic, and I'm going to type as I go. Now, for the application. Here is some rules.**

 **1\. First come is first served, but only if you put effort into your application. Detail is key! Please take at least thirty minutes on typing it up.**

 **2\. You are not allowed to reserve spots unless you want your OC to have a twin, sibling, or close relationship. But you'll need my permission.**

 **3\. No Gary or Mary Sue. They're too annoying.**

 **4.** **Reviews are not acceptable. Only PM me. Review applications will either be ignored or deleted.**

 **5.** **Japanese OC's are preferred, but other nationalities are okay as long as you give a reason. (Ex: Moved, studying aboard)**

 **6**. **Lastly, later in the SYOC, I'll be asking for more detail about your character as we go further into this killing game. So be prepared for that.** **Have fun!**

 **Name:**

 **SHSL (Ultimate):**

 **Age:**

 **Nationality:**

 **Gender: (Trans genders and cross dressers are allowed. But only one or two person(s) can have that spot)**

 **Birth Date/Sign:**

 **Height:**

 **Weight:**

 **Blood Type:**

 **Handedness: (It would be nice if more people are right handed because left handed people are less common. You'll see why this will be important later. Fun Fact: I'm actually left handed)**

 **Appearance and Physical Build:**

 **Clothing:**

 **Personality: (Details!)**

 **History: (And how he/she got their talent. It doesn't have to be tragic! Your OC can have a normal life. I see too many people with sad lives)**

 **Secrets: (Again, doesn't have to be tragic!)**

 **Strengths:**

 **Weaknesses:**

 **Family and Relationships:**

 **Likes:**

 **Dislikes:**

 **Fears:**

 **Survivor/Culprit/Victim: (Not everyone is going to survive, so I might change this. Don't be furious if you die or murder)**

 **Method of Murder:**

 **Reaction to Body Discovery:**

 **Role in Investigation:**

 **Role in Trial:**

 **Reaction if Innocent:**

 **Reaction if Guilty:**

 **Reaction in Execution: (Include both if they're watching someone get executed and if they're the ones being executed)**

 **Examples of Speech: (Include introduction, and examples of what they would say)**

 **Other: (Did I forget something?)**

* * *

 **(9-21-17) The only things that I changed is Chiari's weight, and some format tweaks. Previously, she was 110 lbs, which was WAY to skinny for a busty 15 year old. I hope you understand. XD**


	2. Student Roster

Females

1\. Chiari Yamamoto: SHSL Lucky Student (JessJess1818)

2\. Vonda Sammada: SHSL Actor (DeadLyokoBrony)

3\. Reiko Yurei: SHSL Yokai Hunter (dashunterman)

4\. Ayano Nagasa: SHSL Information Broker (lucky-cure)

5\. Reina Hoshi: SHSL Cheerleader (Other Senpai)

6\. Ki Akamori: SHSL Alchemist (Jackif)

7\. Mami Akiyama: SHSL Patient (Deadrabbit00)

8\. Shinobu Kitani: SHSL Equestrian (NerdyEspurr)

Males

1\. Yuzuru Ozaki: SHSL Doctor (Lloyd's fics)

2\. Erik Sammada: SHSL Magician (DeadLyokoBrony)

3\. Sora Kageyama: SHSL Kunoichi (HiroshitheHawk)

4\. Ichirou Akiyama: SHSL Journalist (LillyShepard)

5\. Romeo Hoshi: SHSL Singer (Other Senpai)

6\. Naoki Kenshi: SHSL Lawyer (Nickstar777)

7\. Sousuke Taminaru: SHSL Archer (Daichi Yamazaki)

8\. Akira Ishiikowa: SHSL Sculptor (RagefulThief)

 **SYOC is now closed. Sorry for anyone who didn't make it. Everyone's was really good. But there were too many female applicants. XD**


	3. Introductions Part: 1

**THIS IS A REWRITE. I know you guys keep saying to not rewrite the first few chapters, but I feel as though these first chapters were rushed and mediocre. This is so I feel a little better. Hope you guys understand.**

 **Hope you can grow to love the cast!**

* * *

 _Ugh..._ Chiari held her pounding head and began to balance her aching body. _My head hurts! What happened? Why am I suddenly teleported to the middle of nowhere? Is this a kidnapping? Am I going to ever make it to land!?_ The thoughts bashing her brain and the sharp pains in her head weren't helping her in this worse case situation.

She walked over to the unconscious man in front of her. Chiari wondered if he was in the same situation as her, or if he was one of the staff here. She eliminated the second scenario since he looked around the same age as her. The man had on a yellow long sleeved shirt underneath a white hoodie. Over top of all of that was a labcoat with blue jeans and brown shoes. His appearance is quite shaggy with droopy eyes with dark rings underneath them, along with his scruffed up, messy hair. Despite the lazy appearance, the man actually could look quite handsome, if he even bothered with his looks.

She wondered if the man was really unconscious, of if it was something worse. Just to be sure, she tried to poke him on the shoulder a little to see if that'll get a reaction out of him. "H-Hellooo? U-Um... Can you hear me?" Chiari spoke as she prodded the poor man. "I know y-you're sleeping and all, but-,"

"N-No, no. I can hear you quite f-fine," A tired, monotone voice spoke weakly. He opened his dark brown eyes and sat up from his daze and looked up at the girl. "What a bother. I could have slept l-longer if you didn't interrupt me. S-Sleeping is good for your health you know. It can benefit weight loss, make you feel more alert during the day, improve your memory, and-,"

"Hehe! Alright, alright! Sleep is very important. I do love naps during the day too!" Chiari giggled, seeing this man rambling on about the benefits of sleeping. "Just, why were you sleeping on the floor? On a cruise in fact!"

After hearing that statement from Chiari, the man's eyes widened. He grabbed and pulled his hair in frustration, and cursed under his breath. The lucky student could see the fear and anger in his eyes and tried to calm him down with words of reassurement, although it took a while for the poor guy to stop fidgeting. The man eventually calmed down but turned his head away from Chiari, unknown about what he was going to do next.

Trying to break the ice, she decided to introduce herself. "H-Hi! I'm Chiari Yamamoto! I... hope we can get along! I am a bit slow to catch on to things, but please bear with me!" Chiari grinned cheerfully and held out her hand. The man looked back at her hand, and hesitantly grabbed it and shook it.

"U-Um, Yuzuru Ozaki. A pleasure to meet you, I guess..." Yuzuru spoke, with a small smile forming on his mouth. Suddenly, they both jumped, feeling something vibrating in their pockets. They pulled out their e-Handbooks to see that they have received each other's information. A little too much in fact.

 **Yuzuru Ozaki**

 **SHSL: Doctor**

 **Age: 16**

 **Gender: Male**

 **DOB: August 14th (Leo)**

 **Height: 5'8 ft.**

 **Weight: 123 lbs. (56 kg)**

 **Blood Type: O+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Coke, Coffee, Dogs**

 **Dislikes: ?, Pointless Death, ?**

 _Note: Likes and Dislikes are there for a reason. The question marks might be revealed through freetimes, though I cannot say for sure that it'll show soon, or maybe ever if they don't want to talk about it._

"W-Wha?" Yuzuru looked down at his handbook, then looking back up at an equally surprised Chiari. "How did they acquire this much information about us?

"Yeah I know!" Chiari said, shocked. "More importantly, how did they figure out I like macarons!?"

"Chiari!"

"Okay! Okay! Just making a joke!" Chiari put her hands up with a nervous laugh escaping her mouth. _Though, what are those question marks about? Meh, prolly not important._ Chiari shrugged her shoulders, and began to stand up and run along to follow Yuzuru, who was already opening the glass doors to the lobby.

It was absolutely gorgeous, but she didn't really have the time to be standing around gawking at this amazing sight. She and the doctor walked the red carpet covered stairs to see in the center of this elevated level of the first floor, was a circle of rooms surrounding the upper level, with neon green metal coated rails to keep people from falling. But what really captured their attention, was that in the center, right in front of the top of the stairs, was a hallway, full of rooms with pictures of people's face sprites on the front of the doors. On the first door on the right, had a face sprite that strangely looked like Yuzuru, and on the middle right, there was a certain brunette's face sprite that looked like her.

They looked at each other with confusion, but pressed on to see if there are any other people who are in the same predicament as them. As if on cue, a door bursted open revealing a very tall girl with red hair, styled in a boyish pixie cut. Looking around frantically, she spotted the two and excitedly ran over to them.

"Yo what's up!?" The girl spoke in a girlish, yet masculine like voice and waved at them, relieved that she's not alone. The two looked at each other confusedly and looked back at her, and decided to introduce themselves.

Chiari waved back and introduced herself to the tomboy. "H-Hello! I'm Chiari Yamamoto," She pointed at the doctor. "And he's the ultimate doctor, Yuzuru! Um, it's nice to meet you... Ehehe... What's your name?"

The tall girl prepared herself as if she was going to say a catchphrase from a hero or magical girl show. "The name's Reiko Yurei! Be it spook, specter or spirit, with me, there's no need to fear it!" After a bit, her expression faltered from a confident smile to a regretful frown. She slapped her palm onto her forehead. "I regret everything about that catchphrase. I really need to make up a better one." She began to take out a notepad with a bear mark on the corner of it and began to scribble down ideas.

Chiari began to look at this strange girl. As she already saw, she had a red hair cut in a boyish pixie cut, with a toned body. She has light green eyes with a scar on her right cheek. She wore black tight leather pants, a white button-up undershirt, and a black ankle-length coat with various talismans and weird looking charms visible on the lining. She also had black knee-length high heeled boots and black wire frame glasses. Chiari could tell that Reiko really loved the color black. Seeing her clothing make Chiari feel very plain.

Chiari felt her hand vibrate, she realized that she was holding the tablet that they found earlier. Unlike Yuzuru and Chiari, who were now used to this, Reiko jumped, along with a tiny yelp that escaped her mouth. The lucky student reached into her pocket to find that she's received Reiko's information.

 **Reiko Yurei**

 **SHSL: Yokai Hunter**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **DOB: March 31th (Aires)**

 **Height: 6 ft.**

 **Weight: 120 lbs. (54 kg)**

 **Blood Type: Unknown**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Chocolate Fudge Sundaes, Scent of Daisies, Firework Festivals**

 **Dislikes: Yokai, O-Bon Festivals, Cockroaches**

Smirking after writing a brand new catchphrase that fits her tastes, she looked back at her tablet to skim through their bios. "Eh, you don't strike my fancy. You sound a bit to... I don't know, normal for my taste."

Chiari jokingly rolled her eyes at Reiko's comment on her. She's never expected for such a boisterous tomboy like her to like chocolate fudge sundaes and the smell of flowers, but saying something like that would be rude, so she decided to say something else instead. "Um, did you wake up here too? Me and Yuzuru woke up on the deck outside."

Reiko tapped her finger on her chin. "Hmm... Yeah! When I was entering Hope's Peak Academy, I suddenly, blacked out! And I woke up with this huge, long headache inside of this bedroom!" She pulled out the notepad again for the others to see. "I also found this notepad from the room too! Man, these rooms has everything we need to live comfortably here!"

Yuzuru scratched his head. "I-I don't feel like we should stay here any longer... I mean, we were kidnapped and taken out into the middle of the ocean. W-Who knows when the people who took us here will come back?" Chiari nodded in agreement, while Reiko sighed in disappointment.

"Okay, okay, I'll come along. For now, let's be friends!" Reiko pumped her fist up in excitement. They all giggled at the yokai hunter's enthusiasm.

"Yay! New friends!" Chiari cheered, following along Reiko's agreement in friendship. They all decided to look at the rest of the bedrooms to see if, like Reiko, if anyone else woke up in bedrooms as well. Chiari observed that there were sixteen bedrooms, each with their own unique picture of a face sprite. Although there were no labels as to who any of these bedrooms belong to. Yuzuru called out to see if anyone was there, while Reiko had a more violent approach and banged her fist on each door.

Chiari just simply did a simple knock on each door. "Hellooo? Wakey wakey! J-Just wanted to see if anyone was here?" With almost no hope she knocked on the very last door on the left, with the face sprite of of a girl with long black hair and blue eyes. After knocking on the door, only a few seconds past before the door slightly open, revealing another very tall girl with the same color hair and eyes as the picture on the door. She scanned the room with suspicion.

The girl looked absolutely elegant, with long onyx black hair in a hime cut, and sapphire blue eyes that gives off a dangerous aura. Lotus pins were on both sides of her, acting like ornaments. She wore a white hip-length kimono which was tied with a black obi with white floral designs on it. Underneath she wore black shorts along with white sandals. The beautiful girl had movements like a queen, and Chiari stared at her with awe, as if her eyes were glued to her. It would be surprising for a person like her to be in the same problem as they were.

Looking at her surroundings, she opened the door even wider to see a comfortable environment. But as soon as vision reached Yuzuru, who was twirling his thumbs, her eyes widened and she went back inside and slammed the door shut, making the others flinch. Chiari and Yuzuru exchanged glances, and Reiko knocked on the door again.

"We're not going to hurt you! You don't have to be scared!" Reiko called out words of reassurement as she, again, hit the door more harder than she really should. A moment of silence, then the girl creaked open the door only to reveal her right eye.

"Get the male out of my sight, then we'll talk," The girl spoke in a deep, threatening voice. Reiko and Chiari turned to Yuzuru, who was very surprised at what the girl was saying.

"W-What!?" Yuzuru began to lash out at the girl. "How does getting rid of me change the situation whatsoever? D-Don't you realize the problematic predicament we're in-,"

 _ **"Get out of my sight or I'll slit you."**_ The girl said in a really low menacing voice. The voice made everyone's spines shiver in fear. Yuzuru's mouth closed tight shut, and he didn't hesitate to leave the premises as soon as possible. As soon as Yuzuru left, the girl willingly swung the door open, slamming it against the wall. She bowed in politeness and reached out her hand and greeted herself in the most formal way imaginable.

"Greetings, my name is Sora Kageyama. It is a pleasure to meet you wonderful girls here. Although, I don't suppose you girls are in the same situation as I am," Sora said formally. Reiko and Chiari looked at her with confusion, but reached out their hands to shake hers anyway. The lucky student and the yokai hunter greeted themselves as well, along with introducing Yuzuru, although Sora grimaced at the name.

"You woke up here like us? Whew! Glad that you're not some sort of spy for the kidnappers!" Reiko smirked playfully as she shook Sora's rough hand. "Oh, by the way, what ultimate talent are you? I'm a yokai hunter, Yuzuru is a doctor, and Chiari over here is the lucky student!"

Sora sighed at Reiko's impatience and answered her question. "I am the ultimate kunoichi. And before you ask, yes. There are still ninjas even today. And no, we don't use such things like ninja stars." She held her head in annoyance. "I can't believe people make such bizarre stereotypes. Must be those horrible males... Anyway, I'm pleased to meet you."

Without hesitation, Reiko and Chiari turned on their tablets to receive the information notification. Sora was confused as to what they were doing, but she looked at the handbook in her hand like the others, and saw that they each received information about each other. Reiko and Chiari were baffled at Sora's bio.

 **Sora Kageyama**

 **SHSL: Kunoichi**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female, ?**

 **DOB: November 13th (Scorpio)**

 **Height: 5'9 ft.**

 **Weight: 137 lbs. (62 kg)**

 **Blood Type: AB-**

 **Handedness: Ambidexrous**

 **Likes: Girls, Sweets, Meat, Freedom**

 **Dislikes: Boys, Romance, Order, ?**

"I-I assume the question marks are information that they don't want anyone to know," Yuzuru peaked out from the corner. "That seems very... Creepy that our kidnappers know this much about us."

With a sharp glare from the kunoichi, Yuzuru jumped and ran back behind the corner. After Sora read the trio's bios, she nodded in satisfaction and turned to the girls. "Shall we look around? We should look around this place as much as possible for more clues as to why we were all brought here."

Without confirmation from the others, she walked down the red carpeted stairs, and the rest followed after her. Just to be safe, Yuzuru followed a safe distance away from the group so that the kunoichi wouldn't give him death glares and threaten him again with murder. There seemed to be a quartz fountain in the center of the main lobby, with a strange looking bear carved with the same material, spewing out water from it's mouth. Chiari thought the bear looked cute, in a strange sort of way, but she ran after the group so she wouldn't fall behind.

"Everyone! C-Come here!"

Yuzuru called out to the group, pointing to a piece of paper pinned onto what looked like red double doors with dark wooden borders and door handles. Above those doors, was a golden rectangle sign plastered on the wall, saying, **'A/V Room'** , which means it's maybe some sort of theater or just a normal audio/visual room for meetings. He ripped off the note from the pin and read it out to the others.

 _Hello, fellow students! This is your new headmaster! Please meet us in the cafeteria/dining area at 8:30 sharp! Tardiness will not be excused so don't be laaatte!_

 _We will explain everything as to how you got here, although the truth won't be so pleasant! Upupu!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Your_ _Headmaster_

"New... Headmaster?" Sora questioned the note. "So Hope's Peak has a new headmaster? I've never been notified of this."

The note was written with red crayon. It had really sloppy handwriting, as if a five year old wrote it, or of someone used their mouth to write with the crayon. On the bottom corner had the same bear on the fountain drawn with black and red crayon. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Wanna go to the cafeteria?" Chiari asked the group. "It's the only lead we have right now, and I don't think we have any other choice."

"I agree with her," Sora nodded her head. "It's the only logical explanation."

Reiko waved her hand, gesturing for the others to come along with her to the cafeteria. There was another golden plate, saying **'Cafeteria/Dining'**. And instead of red, the double doors entering the cafeteria were glass and see through, with silver metal handles. Peeking inside, they could see more people, either still unconscious or just beginning to wake up from their slumber.

"I guess we should go inside and help them. T-They are probably just as confused as us," Yuzuru said, filled with worry. Chiari smiled at the worried doctor and opened the door as quietly as possible. The first thing that they saw were two teens, a boy and a girl, roughly similar to each other, were starting to open their eyes and rubbing their heads in pain.

Chiari helped up the boy with the dark brown hair, and Reiko ran over to the girl with light streaks in her brown hair. They were both baffled when they saw the four students, and remained silent. The lucky student greeted herself first.

"You guys okay? I'm Chiari! The ultimate lucky student!" Chiari introduced herself. The girl stood up, but her eyes didn't even bother to meet theirs. But the boy attempted a smile and bowed.

"Helloo! The name's Romeo! Romeo Hoshi! The ultimate singer. I'm charmed to meet you fellows!"

* * *

 **And done. I feel much better now. I hope this is better than my first attempt at an SYOC. It's still probably not the best thing ever, but it's better at least. :)**


	4. Introductions Part: 2

**THIS IS A REWRITE. Enjoy meeting some more of this enjoyable cast!**

* * *

"The ultimate singer?" Yuzuru asked Romeo. "You sing in front of people and have producers?"

Romeo rubbed his pounding head, but puffed out his chest with confidence. "Yep! Though I've been in a hiatus for quite a bit, but I do have a lot of fans!" He looked around the room, suddenly hit with confusion. "By the way, where are we? I don't remember this being Hope's Peak!"

Romeo was around the same height as Chiari, being maybe only a few centimeters taller than her. He had chocolate dark brown hair with dark brown eyes, along with his tanned skin. His hair was in a undercut, with the sides shorter than the top, and wavy ruffled bangs that fall just above his eyes. He wasn't super muscular, but he looked as though he in shape. He wore a slightly loose fitting leather varsity jacket, with the left side being a pastel pink color, and the right pastel blue. The cuffs and color on the jacket are red and white, and on the back were the letters, _RH_ in cursive. He also wears faded jeans and black laceless boots.

And underneath the jacket, was a loose white t-shirt with the design of a crown on it. Chiari thought Romeo looked like a rapper in movies, despite him already saying he was a singer. Romeo stared directly at Chiari's confused eyes and his hands gestured over to the left of him, revealing a girl that was way shorter than the current group of students. Her cold eyes wavered away from the others, but didn't hesitate to introduce herself.

"Reina Hoshi. I'm Romeo's brother. Ultimate cheerleader," She said in a low voice.

Reina has slightly-tanned skin along with brown eyes and dark brown hair with blond streaks in it. Her hair falls to her mid-back in a wavy style. Some of it rests on her chest, while most of it fell behind her back. She has an overall attractive face, but it's obvious that she wears light make-up, and her body looks like it's in shape. Reina wears a tight fitting white polo with the top two buttons undone, emphasizing her... chest, and a dark blue varsity jacket. She also wears a blue and white plaid mini-skirt, white knee socks and plain white sneakers. Despite her short stature, she does have a mature body.

"Hmm, now you strike my fancy!" Reiko smirked, leaving Reina with a flustered face. The cheerleader huffed in anger and turned away. Reiko sighed at Reina's cold demeanor. "Well, Imma see if they have any food here. See ya guys in a minute!" Reiko had a cheeky grin on her face and ran to find a kitchen.

The singer then turned to the kunoichi, but she automatically gave off a cold aura and glared at him angrily. Romeo raised his eyebrows at this attitude coming off of the tall girl.

"Don't expect a greeting from me..." Sora glared at the singer. Romeo, being a flirt, crossed his arms and had a smug smile on his face, which caused the kunoichi to stomp away from him.

 _I'm assuming that we would get their information by now._ Chiari pulled out her e-Handbook and awaited for it to vibrate.

 **Romeo Hoshi**

 **SHSL: Singer**

 **Age: 16**

 **DOB: February 29th (Pisces)**

 **Height: 5'5 ft.**

 **Weight: 139 lbs. (63 kg)**

 **Blood Type: A+**

 **Handedness: Left Handed**

 **Likes: Family, Singing, Conversation, Fashion, TV, Food, His Fans, Making People Happy, Relaxing**

 **Dislikes: ?, Unhygienic Things, Jerks, People Messing With his Sister, Annoying, Crazy, Judging People**

 **Reina Hoshi**

 **SHSL: Cheerleader**

 **Age: 16**

 **DOB: March 1st (Pisces)**

 **Height: 5'2 ft.**

 **Weight: 102 lbs. (46 kg)**

 **Blood Type: A+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Cheerleading, Family, Exploring, Fashion, Swimming, Working Out, Relaxing**

 **Dislikes: ?, Annoying People, People Not Liking Her**

"Why am I the youngest person here?" Chiari puffed her cheeks out like an immature child. "I don't act that childish do I!?"

"Meh," Everyone shrugged their shoulders with uncertainty, which only made Chiari more irritated. Romeo saw the strange device in the lucky student's hands and walked over to it and poked the small tablet that Chiari was holding and asked her a lot of questions regarding it.

"Whoa, where'd ya get this?" Romeo asked. "How did this small thing get out information? It looks like a toy! Can I get one?"

"I'll tell you later! You probably have one in your pocket right now!" Chiari pointed to Romeo's jacket pocket. The singer reached inside his pocket, to find the same tablet now in his hands. He turned it on with pressing the on button. It rang an eerie jingle, lasting longer than it should've, showing the Hope's Peak Academy symbol. Then it revealed the home screen, with different strange applications. He pressed the 'Profiles' tab on the bottom. It has shown all the student's bios that they've met so far.

"That's kinda stalker-ish if the people who made this know this much about us," Romeo said with a slightly disgusted look on his face. Yuzuru nodded in agreement, conveying that they've all thought that too. Reina took interest at this new device and reached into her own pocket too. Scrolling through the apps and files, her face grew more and more confused.

"Almost all of the stuff here is blocked, what the hell is this good for?" Reina scoffed and twirled it in her hand in disinterest. Romeo glanced at his sister and turned back to his e-Handbook.

With the others preoccupied with their own thing, Chiari decided to look around the cafeteria. It wasn't like any normal school cafeteria that she remembers. The floor was a fancy red carpet, with a lighter red tile pattern, alternating between the red and the light red squares. There were circular tables and chairs spread out in the cafeteria, expected of a dining area. On the left wall, wasn't even a normal wall. Sectioned windows were the entire left wall, showing the crystal blue ocean water and sunlight rays shining through.

There was also a serving counter, and behind that counter was a red door that leads to the kitchen, but judging on the piles of food already on the serving counter, it seems like they won't have to worry about food for the moment.

Chiari then noticed someone in the left corner of the cafeteria, sitting in a seat right next to the window wall. She walked closer to the young teen to get a better look at her.

She could have been easily mistaken for a middle school student. It looks like she still has her baby fat, giving her a slightly boyish figure. She has a round face along with tired eyes. Bangs are framing her face and long dark brown hair was curling behind her back. On top of everything she wears an unzipped tan coat that reaches her feet. Under that is a normal white school blouse, paired with an orange tie. The collar is undone, along with a pair of tan shorts instead of a skirt, with orange and white striped tights under that, along with a pair of brown loafers. On the last layer was a shirt similar to her tights, which can only be seen covering her hands. But the things that really sticks out about her that Chiari could recognized, was an emerald green circle necklace around her neck along with an extremely large messenger bag that seems to tote around no problem.

It would be rude not to introduce herself, so she jogged over, with a few skips in her steps, to her and tried to make some small talk.

"H-Hi! My name is Chiari Yamamoto! What's your name...? Um, I know your busy, but what's your name at least?" Chiari attempted a smile and kneeled down to reach the petite girl's height and beamed at her to get her attention. "I-I'm excited to meet you!"

The girl's eyes didn't even look up at her, and continued to play with her game console. Her fingers were like lightning, tapping away at the buttons. The small girl paused the game, looked up at her with dull eyes, then turned back to her game. Chiari pouted like a child at this girl's rude attitude and waved her hand in front of her face. "Helloooo? At least a name?"

"Ayano Nagasa. That's my name, now please stop that..." The girl said in a monotone voice. A ding rang in Chiari's hoodie pocket, and she pulled it out. Turns out this Ayano was not as she seems.

 **Ayano Nagasa, ?**

 **SHSL: Information Broker**

 **Age: 15**

 **Gender: Female**

 **DOB: March 3rd (Pisces)**

 **Height: 5'0 ft.**

 **Weight: 106.5 lbs. (48.3 kg)**

 **Blood Type: AB+**

 **Handedness: Ambidextrous (Prefers Right)**

 **Likes: Cleanliness, Otome Games, Ace Attorney, Gasoline Smell, Being Warm, Yuka Kisaragi(?), Snakes, Teddy Bears, Classical/Pop/Alternative Music, Being Stimulated.**

 **Dislikes: The Cold, Dirt, Horror Games/Genre, Papercuts, No Internet, Music Other Than Classical/Pop/Alternative, China Dolls, Her Electronics Not Working**

 _Seems she's really picky about her tastes..._ Chiari thought. It looks like she's not going to get any more information out of her, so she left her alone and attempted to turn back to Romeo and the others, but the first thing she saw... was a guy only a few inches taller than her. She didn't have much time to react, so her body immediately came in contact with his, and she fell backwards to a cluster of chairs, crashing into them making a lot of noise.

Chiari moaned in pain. She was laying on top of a lot of chairs, with her arms spread out on top of the chairs, and her legs were in an unhuman-like position. The guy was taken aback too, but was able to gain support from a table before he could collapse like Chiari. He saw her in this horrible state and rushed to her.

"Oh, god are you okay!?" The man held out his hand. Chiari winced in pain and managed to reach out her hand to grab the man's hand. She regained her balance and stood up.

"Ehehe, y-yeah I'm alright!" Chiari giggled with embarrassment and scratched the back of her head. "But I haven't seen you before! When did you get here?"

"O-Oh... I just got here. Woke up in a room of some sort of room near the pool. Naoki Kenshi is my name by the way!" Naoki introduced himself. "I guess I'm known as the ultimate lawyer. But I don't know why we're all brought here. If I find whoever is doing this I'm going to sue them for kidnapping..."

He has light skin, with short black spiky hair along with red highlights and brown eyes. He has a Scales of Justice tattoo on his right forearm. He wears a black tank top under a red unbuttoned dress shirt that has the sleeves rolled up, and dark blue jeans held up with a black leather belt with a silver buckle. Around his neck is a shark tooth necklace, with a wristwatch on his right wrist and clack combat boots. To Chiari, he doesn't look at all like a lawyer in movies and tv shows, though she won't judge.

Another ring in her pocket. Naoki jumped in surprise at this sudden buzz in his jean pocket. He and the lucky student both pulled out their tablets to see that they received each other's personal information. The lawyer's face was almost disgusted at the fact that their kidnapper ripped out their bios for anyone to see. Chiari sighed and pressed the student files tab to see Naoki's info. She was not surprised.

 **Naoki Kenshi**

 **SHSL: Lawyer**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **DOB: August 15th (Leo)**

 **Height: 5'9 ft.**

 **Weight: 147 lbs. (66.7 kg)**

 **Blood Type: A+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Justice, His Sister, Friends, Music, Detective Anime (Death Note, Horror Anime)**

 **Dislikes: ?, Unjustified Crime, Lies, People Insulting His Sister**

Chiari took a second look at his likes, to realize he liked anime, especially 'Death Note'.

"Oh my god! You like Death Note too!?" Chiari said in a high pitched fangirl voice. "People say that it's so called childish, but I call it an art-form!" Naoki's expression lit up at Chiari's statement. He nodded excitedly.

"Looks like we both have the same interest! What kind of anime do you like by the way?" Naoki asked happily. Reina eavesdropped on the two anime fans' conversation and rolled her eyes while leaning back in her chair.

"Can you stop flirting about anime?" Reina said, her eyebrows furrowed. "Nobody needs to hear about your disgusting fantasies." Naoki took offense to that and lashed out at her.

"Shut up! It's none of your business!" Naoki yelled, making Reina flinch and turn away from the lawyer. He eventually calmed down, exhaled in frustration and got back to the important topic. "By the way, I should tell you something about where I woke up."

"Hmm? What is it?" Chiari cocked her head to the side.

Naoki rubbed the back of his neck. "When I reached the school, I passed out. Then I suddenly found myself in some sort of storage room with my head hurting like hell. Actually, I was not alone. There was another one of us that woke up there with me." He turned his head to the entrance of the cafeteria and waved at the teens talking near the entrance. "Hey, could you come over and introduce yourselves to this girl?"

Chiari looked behind him to find a guy shorter than her walking towards her. He looked normal, but what she didn't expect...

Was that he was blind.

* * *

 **Hope this is better that the trash I wrote in my weebish fangirl years in adolescence. I'm going to rewrite the next introduction too so stay tuned! :3**


	5. Introductions Part: 3 (Final)

**THIS IS A REWRITE. Enjoy the last of the cast!**

* * *

"Hello! Guess you guys are supposed to be in the same class as me?" The blind man said excitedly. He waved his hand around, looking for something until he found Chiari's hand and shook it. "Name's Akira Ishiikowa! Oh, don't mind the shades and the cane. As you probably can tell, I'm blind! I know, crazy right!?" He beamed like a child.

"Ehehe... I'm pretty sure we can tell Akira," Naoki sighed. "The person you're shaking hands with is Chiari Yamamoto, the lucky student." Chiari took the time to look at Akira.

He has light colored skin and blond hair that's in loose, small ponytail. His eyes are a pale rose color and both of his ears are pierced. His right ear has a small thick golden hoop lobe piercing, a black stud anti-tragus piercing, and two small black hoop helix/rim piercings. His left ear has a black stud anti-tragus piercing and a silver hoop helix/rim piercing that is connected to a small, thick silver hoop lobe piercing by a small silver chain. On his face are dark raspberry shades that curve upwards and have three points. He wears a white button up shirt with the first two buttons undone, that is tucked into a pair of jean shorts, which was held up by teal suspenders. But instead of the right suspender being on his shoulder, it's hanging on his sides. On his feet are black knee-high and red converse shoes.

Around his neck is a loosened maroon neck tie. Both Chiari and Naoki glanced at each other at Akira's quirky behavior.

"Hmm, Chiari's a cool name!" Akira shook Chiari's hand harder, which made her hand really sore. "I want to ask, what do you look like? What are your hobbies? What is-,"

"Woah! One at a time!" Chiari and Naoki said in unison, causing Akira to giggle in embarrassment and apologized. Romeo smirked and leaned his elbow on Chiari's shoulder.

"Well..." He gazed at Chiari, who was frozen like ice. "She only an inch taller than you, wears glasses and this weird looking hair bow along with this green hoodie. And... She also... Um, has a big chest. Just use your imagination buddy."

"Plegh!" Reiko gagged and coughed her sundae from overhearing Romeo's... pervy explanation. She couldn't contain herself, and began to laugh uncontrollably. Chiari puffed her cheeks out in anger and embarrassment, and her eyes began to get all watery.

" _-Sniff-_ Stop making fun of meeee!" Chiari said in a whiney tone, causing the yokai hunter to wipe her tears away and tried her hardest not to laugh, sneaking a snort now and then.

Yuzuru had enough of the students making fun of the lucky student. "S-Stop pestering her! E-Everybody has a different body size and growth rate, and n-nobody should judge for that!"

Chiari smiled internally for Yuzuru standing up for her, but her face was still red from embarrassment, and her hands unintentionally raised to cover her chest area. Naoki felt a bit of pity for her, and patted her shoulder for reassurement. Chiari felt much more calmer now, before the surprise jump from her hoodie pocket. Everyone, except Akira, who was rummaging through every single pocket he had in excitement. Akira's information was displayed as "new student!" just like every new person they meet. The sculptor asked the singer to translate everything for him.

 **Akira Ishiikowa**

 **SHSL: Sculptor**

 **Age: 16**

 **Gender: Male**

 **DOB: September 29th (Libra)**

 **Height: 5'4 ft.**

 **Weight: 128 lbs. (58 kg)**

 **Blood Type: O+**

 **Handedness: Ambidexterous**

 **Likes: The Smell Of Clay, Popsicles, Making Jokes**

 **Dislikes: Whales, Thunder, Pinwheels**

Reina raised an eyebrow from reading this... awkward information that gives out more that she could chew. "Smelling clay...? That's creepy, even for a blind sculptor..." Akira cocked his head in Reina comment. He answered straightforwardly.

"Well, being the sherlock you are, I'll answer!" Akira said in a more snarky tone than the usual. "As you can see, I'm blind so smelling the clay was the only option. Eventually I grew to get used to it, and liked it too!"

"W-Well, you are a sculptor! Ehehe," Chiari giggled nervously.

Suddenly, they heard a crash from the corner of the cafeteria. Everyone sharply turned their heads around while Akira flinched and covered his ears in pain. Reiko had leaned too far in her seat. And trying to grab onto something as a reflex, she took her sundae with her, and now she was submerged with melted ice cream and hot fudge and was groaning in pain. Her feet were the only parts of her body that were propped on the chair. Yuzuru panicked and rushed over to her.

"A-Are you alright? Do you have any wounds?" The doctor kneeled down to the yokai hunter. "Even with a fall that small, you could've gotten a concussion! L-Let me check."

"Uuugggghh... I'm okay, I'm alright! Don't worry," Reiko wiped the ice cream from her glasses using the clean part of her clothes, and moved the hair away from her face. She stood up with her arms far away from her body to avoid her sticky clothes. "Imma get some napkins and wash myself off..."

The yokai hunter awkwardly tip toed over to the kitchen in the far left corner, and not even a few seconds passed, and they heard a girly scream coming from the location Reiko was. Everyone panicked and rushed into the kitchen and barged through the door. What they saw was surprising.

There was a girl, approximately the same height as Reiko, lying on the cold, hard kitchen tiles. In her head-throbbing daze, she was struggling to wake up, and she winced in pain. She has a scrawny, bony body along with long, dark, messy hair that accompanied by a slim face. She has grey eyes and brownish, tan skin. She wears very worn baggy jeans, and old stained t-shirt, and a large worn brown cloak that has patches on it. Also, she has no shoes. She's barefoot.

To avoid scaring her too much, Chiari kneeled down to the female body, and gently poked her skinny arm. "Hello...? I-If you're alive, please answer me!"

"Stop poking her," Sora scolded Chiari. "That is not a way to treat a lady." Chiari ignored the kunoichi and continued poking the girl. A few minutes have passed, and now they heard a moan escape the girl's mouth. Romeo placed his hand on the girl's back and helped her sit up. The girl's eyes squinted as she saw the group of students surrounding her.

"You woke up in a cruise. We're all kidnapped of some sort..." Ayano suddenly spoke, her eyes remained looking at the bright screen without getting involved in the crowd. The girl rubbed her head in confusion, and weakly stood up.

She leaned against the kitchen island counter for support while trying to comprehend the situation put before her. To calm herself down, she saw in the corner of her eye, a box of teabags. She walked over to the teabags and a mug, and poured some hot water from the already prepared kettle.

"S-Sorry... My name's Ki Akamori. Could I have some time alone please...? I-I need to think." Ki said while placing the teabag in the steaming water.

Everyone nodded their heads, understanding she has just woken up, and in a single file this time, left the kitchen and back into the dining area. Reiko waved a temporary goodbye to find a restroom to wash up and possibly find an extra supply of clothes.

"Oh! Almost forgot!" Chiari clicked the 'ON' button and looked for the file that read, "Ki Akamori". Her bio was probably the most strangest out of the students.

 **Ki Akamori**

 **SHSL: Alchemist**

 **Age: 15 (Guessed)**

 **Gender: Female**

 **DOB: Unknown**

 **Height: 6'0 ft.**

 **Weight: 128 lbs. (56 kg)**

 **Blood Type: AB+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Magic Girl Shows, Calm Quiet Places, Tea, The Sea**

 **Dislikes: The Wilderness After Dark, Hard/Brittle Bread, Arguments, Gum**

"Huh? Guessed age? Unknown birth date!? Is she an alien?" Reina scoffed at her handbook. Everyone stared at her for a few seconds. Romeo sighed and patted her head.

"Calm down Reina. I'm sure she was born in a poor place where calendars were expensive or something," He stopped after saying that, and covered his mouth after realizing what he just said. "Ooooh, I didn't make anything better did I? My bad..." He said in a muffled voice.

Everyone then broke into conversation, talking about why they were here, how the hell did they end up in the middle of the ocean, and what did their kidnapper(s) want from them? As Chiari nibbled on melon pan from the plastic wrap that she found in the snack cupboard, a thought popped into her head. There were supposed to be sixteen students attending the new class of Hope's Peak. Why were there only ten students present? Did they manage to escape the kidnapper(s) that supposedly knocked them unconscious? A few minutes of chatter passed, and the glass doors burst open once more.

A sleepy looking boy and a wealthy posh looking girl peeked through the doors. They looked very confused and unsure whether or not they should enter.

"Mmpphh! Fhello! Vvou can come en! Vhere nod gonna vite!" Chiari said with her mouth full. The boy grinned slightly and tried to hide a giggle. He finally took a step forward, leaving the taller girl still peeking through the doors, suspiciously glancing at the group, questioning the students' intention. The boy however, hesitantly introduced himself.

"U-Um, Hi! Ehehe... Uh, I'm Sousuke Taminaru, I'm the SHSL Archer. I-It's really nice to meet you," Sousuke said quite shyly. "I-I don't suppose you guys are in the same class as me? W-Why are we sent here? Is this some sort of survival test t-that Hope's Peak is giving us?"

The wealthy looking girl stepped forward next to Sousuke and looked at him right in the eye. "I doubt it. Hope's Peak is supposed to measure our talent, not our survival skills. Unless someone has a talent for that, then this is definitely not the work of the school..."

The girl crossed her arms. "I'm Shinobu Kitani. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance. But please don't expect for me to cooperate with you guys." She began to twirl her hair.

Sousuke is average height for his age with a slim physique to him, with a fit but not too muscular right arm, drastically different from his scrawny left one. He has messy dark blue hair that covers a little of his forehead and an ahoge pointing to his right. His eyes are also blue, but are hooded, almost like he is sleepy. He wears a dark green hooded cape on his back, he has a light brown body warmer over a green t-shirt and also dark green pants that cover his entire legs, finishing with brown boots. His hood is down instead of covering his head.

Shinobu has golden brown hair that's tied up in a bun with a blue ribbon in the bun. Her bangs are side swept. She has blue-green eyes with mascara on. She has a bit of a small nose and a small mouth with light pink lipstick. She has a bit of an hourglass shape to her body. She wears a blue and white argyle sweater vest over a light gray long sleeve dress shirt. She has a black bow tie around her neck as well. She has on beige riding pants held up by a black belt and black knee high riding boots.

Naoki glanced at Chiari. "Do you want me to check their information?"

Chiari nodded happily while still munching on her fluffe melon pan. The lawyer pulled out his e-Handbook and tapped on their electronic files.

 **Sousuke Taminaru**

 **SHSL: Archer**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **DOB: February 2nd (Aquarius)**

 **Height: 5'6 ft.**

 **Weight: 163 lbs. (74 kg.)**

 **Blood Type: B+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: A** **rchery, Lemonade, Conspiracy Theories, Reading**

 **Dislikes: Fish, Travelling by Plane, Watching TV or Movies**

* * *

 **Shinobu Kitani**

 **SHSL: Equestrian**

 **Age: 16**

 **Gender: Female**

 **DOB: December 13th (** **Sagittarius)**

 **Height: 5'7 ft.**

 **Weight: 145 lbs. (66 kg)**

 **Blood Type: B+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: The Color Blue, Horses, Winning, Tea, Hair Styling, Contouring**

 **Dislikes: The Color Green, Weak Minded People, Losing**

"Oh, so you're the equestrian! That's pretty cool!" Reiko beamed confidently. "I've never been on a horse. I've always wanted to."

"Well, taking equestrian classes takes up a lot of time and money," Shinobu said, sitting down in a chair near her, crossing her legs with elegance. "Fortunately, my parents were able to buy me a horse when I was young."

"You are the ultimate equestrian for a reason!" Akira said.

Naoki silenced the students for a meeting. He began to speak out to the group of confused students. "Okay! Now we have twelve students! Chiari told me that apparently there are supposed to be sixteen. So can I have a few people come with me while the rest wait here? Any volunteers?"

Chiari immediately raised her hand, throwing away the plastic wrap. Reiko and Romeo followed. Reina refused to raise her hand with Romeo, but he forced her hand up, making her very irritated. The lawyer nodded and left the cafeteria as the others followed. They began to search the main lobby to see what unlocked doors they missed.

Right next to the cafeteria was another set of glass doors, that had a sign above it with different colored lights, like it belonged in a casino, spelling out the words, "Mono Store!" Right next to the light sign was a symbol of a face of a strange looking bear. From what they can tell through the transparent glass doors, there was red carpet, similar to the carpet in the cafeteria only in a different style and pattern. There are shelves stocked with loads of bizarre goods. Some that belonged in a normal convenience store, and some that belonged in hardware stores and elsewhere.

In the cash register counter there was a rack of condiments. Like toothbrushes, gum and mints, candy, and other items that looks like they belonged in a hotel. Chiari reluctantly went first and nervously slammed the door open. Little did she know she accidentally startled a boy who was busy writing in his notepad. The lucky student was equally surprised and fell over, while the tall boy accidentally dropped his pencil and knocked into a fully stocked shelf. Luckily, he didn't knock it over, but it did cause a lot off stuff to fall out in a clutter.

"Oooohhhh..." Chiari moaned, rubbing her bottom in pain. Naoki rushed over and grabbed her hand and helped her up. Meanwhile, the boy was rubbing his pounding head while looking at the carnage he made.

"Super sorry. I didn't see you there!" Chiari scratched the back of her head and giggled nervously, hoping the boy isn't too mad. But her apology had the opposite effect, and the boy's eyebrows furrowed and he went into a defencive position.

"Are you the people who kidnapped me and took me here?" The boy glared at the students. Romeo shook his head and explained their situation to him, saying that they woke up like him, and that there are more that are confused like him.

The guy was taller than the group of students. He had medium brown skin. His dark pink hair is slicked back and brown eyes that has dark circles. He wears a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows under a grey vest and a pink tie. He has grey slacks and brown loafers with wire framed glasses. He looked like he had a cynical attitude based on his facial expressions.

"What's your name?" Reiko placed her hands on her hips. The boy brushed off his clothes and adjusted his glasses.

"Ichirou Akiyama. Ultimate journalist. I assume you've read my work?" Ichirou said expecting a compliment, moving his hair away from his eyes.

Reina rolled her eyes at the man. "Pssh. I'd rather die than read anything made by you."

The journalist glared at the cheerleader and looked like he was going to tackle her. "Why you little-."

 _-Beep, Beep!-_

"What the hell was that!?" Ichirou jumped. He looked at the others to see if they were equally as surprised, but instead of seeing that, everyone just calmly pulled out strange looking tablets and tap on strange looking icons. Everyone now has the journalist's information while he had everyone else's.

 **Ichirou Akiyama**

 **SHSL: Journalist**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Male**

 **DOB: August 12th (Leo)**

 **Height: 5'10 ft.**

 **Weight: 135 lbs. (61 kg)**

 **Blood Type: AB+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: Writing, Coffee, Mature People, Spicy Food, Puzzles, Cats**

 **Dislikes: Being Lonely, ?, Most Vegetables, Immaturity, Color Orange**

Romeo raised an eyebrow at Ichirou's information. "So is AB blood type a trend? I thought it was an uncommon thing!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at the singer. Naoki then tells the journalist that there are three people left to find, and asked if he wanted to come along. Ichirou nodded, wanting to get some answers as to what is going on. But before they could leave, they heard a deep, feminine groan from behind the counter.

Chiari noticed the pained noise and rushed over, peeking over the counter. There was a very skinny, tall girl with stitches all over her body. There was also a tube sticking out of her arm to an silver stand on wheels with an IV bag on it, leaning against the wall so it was out of sight. She opened her eyes, or to be more precise, eye since she has a red eye patch on her right eye.

The girl had a thin face, light purple hair color, black eyes, and a sickly pale skin tone. Her hair is in a bun, and has bags under her eyes. She has lots of freckles on her face. She looks pretty skinny. She looks a bit like a zombie rag doll, because she has stitches across her neck, her shoulders, her forearms, across her stomach, both of her thighs, and her ankles. She also wears a black tank top underneath a white hoodie, dark purple knee length skirt and blood red high tops. The girl was also holding loosely on some painkillers.

"You alright!? You look horrible!" Chiari said, holding out her hand to help the poor weak girl out. The girl weakly smiled and grabbed her hand with her bony arm.

"I-I'm alright. Thanks for a-asking," the girl said with a bit of a deep, mellow tone. From the way she talks, she seems to be socially awkward and a bit shy.

"Are you one of us? Or some sort of spy?" Ichirou said with a bit of distrust. Reiko nudged the journalist's arm sharply, which caused him to rub his arm. The girl giggled a little and looked down while fiddling with her thumbs.

"Ah, no. I-I'm just as confused a-as you are. I-Is it okay if I introduce m-myself?" The girl said shyly. "M-My My name is Mami Akiyama. W-Would you be my friend?"

Chiari beamed and squeezed Mami's hand a little too hard. "Yeah! Of course! When we get out of here, let's hang out or something! What do you like to-."

"Eeep!" Mami flinched in pain from the lucky student gripping on her hand. Chiari saw this and jumped back, and bowed repeatedly in apology. Mami held her hand and told her it was alright, and that it didn't hurt too bad.

"Hey guys, just received the info on Akiyama," Romeo said, holding up his e-Handbook for everyone to see. And what they saw on her talent description was surprising.

"H-Hold on, there's such thing as this kind of talent?" Reiko squinted her eyes.

 **Mami Akiyama**

 **SHSL: Patient**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **DOB:** **October 21st (Libra)**

 **Height: 6'1 ft.**

 **Weight: 110 lbs. (49 kg)**

 **Blood Type: AB-**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes:** **Medicine, People, Hospitals, King Girls, Doctors, Color White, Making Friends, Reading Manga/Novels, Romance-Comedy Movies**

 **Dislikes:** **Hospital Food, ?, Her Illness, Running, ?**

"Wow, cool! You have the same last name as Ichirou over here!" Chiari grinned, pointing over to the confused journalist. "Are you guys secret siblings?"

Mami shook her head. "Secret siblings? I-I've never met him b-before. But nice to meet y-you. I-I hope we can get a-along."

Reina scoffed. "Whatever. What kind of talent is that? Ultimate patient. You gotta be kidding me."

"N-No... I'm not "kidding you" o-or whatever that means," Mami said, cocking her head to the side, holding the metal stand to her IV. "I-I'm just a p-permanent resident at t-the hospital."

Meanwhile, while Mami was explaining how she got her talent, Reiko was busy exploring her handbook, tapping away on every app she could find. A few scrolls later, she found a weird app with a map icon on it. After pressing it, a holographic image projected in the air, showing the map of the entire lobby. But what she noticed the most, was two bright pulsing red dots in the theater/AV room.

 _AV Room... AV Room... Where have I seen that before? Think dammit, think!_ Reiko pounded her head with her fist. Chiari glanced at Reiko's direction and wondered why she was hitting her head. Chiari barged in and looked at the red dots.

"Hey, what does this thing do!?" Chiari said like a child who doesn't know how a computer keyboard works, and pressed on the red spots. A few seconds passed, and another pop up appeared in front of the map. There were two silhouettes, one large male, and a tiny female. Their names and bios are replaced with question marks. An arrow pointed to the square labeled, "AV/Theater". Reiko lit up like a lightdulb was above her head and grabbed Chiari arm and pulled her along.

"Chiari Yamamoto! You're a genius!" Reiko said with pride. Chiari had a baffled look on her face, saying, _"I am?"_

The yokai hunter violently ripped the note from before off the door and kicked the door open, while the lucky student was still being pulled like a dog on a leash. Everyone else followed along and searched the entire place. They kept looking under the red velvet seats, looked behind the screen, and even looked in every corner, nook and cranny. Before they decided to give up, they heard a bang from somewhere.

 _Woah! Where was it coming from!?_ Chiari looked around. _A secret door!? A dungeon?_

"Over here!" Naoki waved his hand from behind the theater curtains. Everyone ran over to him and found... a costume closet, just like those kinds of closets where the actors and actresses get their costumes. The closet was shaking, rustles and banging against the walls were heard. A few muffled screams and frustrated yells echoed throughout the stage. A silver key was turned to the left inside a golden keyhole. Ichirou unlocked the closet door by turning the key to the right, and the closet doors swung open, and two students, just like the silhouettes crashed onto the wooden floor.

The boy has shaggy green hair, grey eyes, and tan skin. He is considered overweight, but calling him 'fat' would be rude. He wears a magician hat, a red dress shirt, black vest, blue oval glasses on his face, a black bow-tie, black dress pants, black dress shoes, and a black and red cape. He looks sorta like a magician.

The small girl has long wavy blonde hair, She strangely has one orange eye and one brown eye, with tan skin. She is very slim and skinny. She wears a black polo shirt, long blue scarf, a long red skirt, light green fingerless gloves, and camo combat boots. From the looks of it, she looks like a rainbow in human form, and has a really weird fashion sense.

"Oh, thank you, thank you! It was so cramped in there!" The boy shook his hand with Ichirou's. "My name's Erik Sammada! And this is my little sis!"

"D-Don't call me little s-sis," the little girl said, breathing heavily and sweating. Erik grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about her, she's not really into tight spaces. We've been in here forever! It was getting really annoying!" Erik scratched the back of his head. "Yes, we are siblings. People say that we look completely different, I know."

Just after he said that, as if he knew the current situation he was in, he immediately pulled out the e-Handbook from his pocket.

"W-Wha, how did you k-know you had t-that?" Mami asked, pointing at the tablet in Erik's big hand.

"While being stuck in that musty closet, this thing was buzzing in our pockets non-stop!" Erik looked up and explained. "It gave us some of your profiles, and some others that I don't even know!"

Reiko shrugged her shoulders, saying _"Works for me..."_ Chiari pulled out her handbook like Erik, and tapped on their profiles, which are no longer silhouettes, and were replaced with real pictures. And the question marks were replaced with words.

 **Erik Sammada**

 **SHSL: Magician**

 **Age: 18**

 **Gender: Male**

 **DOB:** **May 11th (Taurus)**

 **Height: 6'4 ft.**

 **Weight: 222 lbs. (100.5 kg)**

 **Blood Type: AB+**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes:** **Magic, Calling Vonda Little Sis, Cleaning, Cats**

 **Dislikes: Strawberries, Music, Slobs**

* * *

 **Vonda Sammada**

 **SHSL: Actor**

 **Age: 16**

 **Gender: Female**

 **DOB:** **March 30th (Aries)**

 **Height: 4'7 ft.**

 **Weight: 77 lbs. (35 kg)**

 **Blood Type: O-**

 **Handedness: Right Handed**

 **Likes: C** **artoons, Video Games, Movies, Her Brother, Dogs**

 **Dislikes: Her Brother's OCD, Magic, ?**

"Ehehe! Woah! AB blood types are the norm hell yeah!" Romeo said with a sarcastic tone, which caused everyone to groan and rolled their eyes.

Naoki began to stretch his arms. "Now we've found everyone, what are we going to do? Work together to find a way out? At least gather together and search the cruise?"

They then heard a static noise from the top corner of the room. Turns out, there was a TV hanging on the corner of the ceiling. After more static noise, a monochromatic bear, with a scratch looking eye and a weird looking belly button. The bear had a cocktail in his right hand, err paw, and was leaning back on a red velvet couch.

"Greeeetings my fellow students!" the bear spoke like a game show host. "Well, well! It's looks like we have a new handful of students to mess around with!"

"W-What the hell?" Vonda and Ichirou said, dumbfounded.

"Ooooh! Cute bear! But what's it doing here?" Chiari ran closer to the screen, squinting her eyes and adjusting her glasses.

"Now's not the time to look at cute bears, Yamamoto..." Reina said with a low, gravelly voice. Chiari nervously chuckled and continued to look at the TV monitor.

"I bet you're wondering, why are we here? Why are we stuck in the middle of the ocean? Well come to the cafeteria to get your answers!" The bear threw this perfectly made cocktail away and ran towards the camera. "OR ELSSSEEEEE!" His red eye began to flash menacingly. The TV then shut off, the black screen remains. Everyone was staring at the screen, baffled.

"I-I guess this is the o-only way to get some a-answers..." Mami said reluctantly. Everyone was hesitant to agree, but this was their only lead.

"L-Let's go," Naoki and everyone else exited the AV room and on the way to the cafeteria. Little did they know...

They would get into something they never wanted to be. A game of roulette, a game of...

 ** _Despair..._**

* * *

 **Enjoy this newly fresh chapter! Will begin to rewrite the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 1-1: Starting Line of Despair

**A/N: Yay! Introductions are out of the way! I just want to tell you guys that because this is my first SYOC, I'm sorry if I make your OCs out of character accidentally. Updates will be slower since these chapters might be longer than usual. Enjoy! And I decided to use the lines instead of ~o0o~ from now on. You're welcome.**

* * *

"My god! I didn't know we walked this much!" Chiari sat down on a chair, and rubbed her ankles in pain.

"We've only walked for ten minutes..." Ichirou sighed.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME!"

"Eep!" Mami flinched.

Suddenly, a muffled voice screeched through the speaker of the cafeteria. Everyone besides Ayano looked up to hear the awaited announcement.

 _"Hello everyone!"_

 _"Why must I do this Monokuma?"_

 _"Shut up Monomi! I'm trying to make a good entrance!"_

 _"Nooo! It's Usami! Not Monomi! And I'm not your sister!"_

 _"You are for the time being! Now be quiet!"_

The voice was so annoying that even Ayano and Mami were cringing. Right after the announcement, a small black and white bear, and a pink and white rabbit bounced up onto the serving counter.

"What in the name of yokai is that!?" Reiko screeched. "It's like a rejected care bear came to life and was attacked by an army of zombies!"

"I... can't even..." Shinobu stopped fixing her makeup to stare at the so called rejected care bears.

"I'm done with life now. NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE," Chiari raised her hands and started to walk out along with most of the other students.

"You're not going anywhere!" the bear stepped in front of the cafeteria doors, blocking the way out.

"What's even happening!?" Romeo's eyes got wider and shaking in fear.

"Y-Yeah! Let us out now!" Naoki yelled at the bear. "I have to go to court soon!"

"I do not like this! This is unacceptable," Sora calmly, yet furiously said the stuffed animals, and crossed her arms. "You shouldn't stop us from walking out you bear scum!"

"Why are we here!?" Sousuke softly yelled.

"Don't keep us here forever!" Yuzuru lashed out at the bear.

"Whatever. My name's Monokuma! And over there is Monomi! For the rest of your lives, you'll be staying here until you die!" Monokuma straightforwardly said to the shocked students.

"And why would you do that?" Ki asked.

"Why of course, despair! I love seeing despair on your faces!" Monokuma maniacally laughed. "But there is one thing you can do to escape..."

"And what the heck might that be!?" Reina angrily asked Monokuma.

"Please tell u-us!" Mami said eagerly, hoping to find a way out.

"Well my little friends... you have to kill each other! Or else you'll stay here forever!" Monokuma said.

"WHAAT!?" Chiari screamed, as well as the rest.

"N-No! No way! Not in a million years!" Erik and Vonda refused.

"That's not good! Don't worry guys! I'll save you!" Monomi jumped at Monokuma.

"Be quiet!" Monokuma effortlessly punched Monomi and she flew across the room. "As I was saying, you have to kill each other to escape. Stabbing, poisoning, whatever you want! Now have fun!" Monokuma disappeared out of thin air, as well as the injured Monomi.

"What just happened?" Akira asked nobody in particular.

"Whatever. Like we'd kill each other," Reina slammed the doors open and walked out.

"This is boring. _-Yawn-_ " Ayano said as she carried her electronics out of the cafeteria.

"Well, putting that aside, it's almost nighttime. We should find our rooms and get some rest." Ichirou said.

" _-Yawn-_ Yeah. I feel like crap after what the demented teddy bear said," Chiari rubbed her eyes and walked out the doors, while the rest discuss on what to do.

"So what's gonna happen from here?" Erik said.

"Well, first of all, what are we gonna do from here?" Romeo pointed out on Erik's statement.

"I think we all should meet in the cafeteria every morning after breakfast," Ichirou said, placing down a cup of spicy ramen and sat down. While Ki was at a safe distance away from the group, staring at the ocean waves.

"And... why?" Reiko sat on a chair and leaned back.

"Isn't it obvious? To find our way out," Shinobu crossed her arms.

"Oh! I get it! So we can discuss on what we can find, so we can escape this weird place!" Akira slapped his fist onto his hand in realization. He started to put his arm around Shinobu, but she pushed it away in disgust. Akira backed away immediately.

"So are we going to meet tomorrow morning?" Yuzuru stood up and leaned against the wall.

"I-I guess!" Mami nervously smiled.

"Well... I guess we have that covered," Vonda sighed.

"We should get some rest now. We need our sleep for the morning," Sora walked out the cafeteria slowly.

"Yea, see ya!" Akira followed Sora out the doors, who pushed him away, making him fall.

Naoki helped Akira up, while Sousuke opened the door for everyone else. The rest of them walked out the cafeteria doors as the sun sets on the ocean.

* * *

 _Kill each other? Monokuma's got to be lying. Is he? Oh who am I kidding, he's not lying,_ Chiari thought as she walked to her assigned bedroom, which was right next to Reiko and Sousuke's room. She attempted to turn the knob. _Huh. It's locked._

"Upupu!" Monokuma appeared out of nowhere in front of Chiari.

Chiari flinched and backed away. "Holy crap! Jesus Christ! What the-"

"Kay! Gonna stop you there! I was just here to give you your key!" Monokuma handed her the bedroom key. "This key will unlock only your room. Picking others locks are impossible and will be punished accordingly! You'll find more rules in your handbook! Bye now!" Monokuma disappeared.

"Nuuuu! No more handbook, god damn it!" Chiari groaned and unlocked her bedroom door.

As soon as she walked in, her bedroom carpet was dark turquoise in a tile form. On the right side right as she walked in, there was a small closet, full of the same clothing she was currently wearing. _Bet that's why people in Danganronpa wear the same thing everyday._ A fancy king sized bed was laid out on the right side of the room, along with some drawers, and a TV was placed on the drawers on the left side of the room. On the left side of the bed was a lamp stand, a curtained window, and a door to a bathroom on the right. On the corner of the ceiling was a camera. Right next to the drawers, was her bag!

"Oh! So that's where it went!" Chiari said as she rushed to look inside it. _Huh. It's empty. My phone isn't in here either._

" _-Yawn_ _-_ Well, better take a shower and go to sleep," Chiari stretched and went into the bathroom. _Yeah, I'm a night shower person, deal with it._

The bathroom looked unexpectedly clean and modern. With a sink, a toilet, a shower, and a small bath. Well, that's what you'd expect in a bathroom. On the sink counter was a crumbled up piece of paper. Chiari opened up the paper.

 _Greetings!_

 _Just to point out that the water turns off from 10 pm to 7 am! Morning announcements will be at 7 am, and nighttime announcements will be at 10 pm! But just for the first day, the water will be turned on all night! Toiletry supplies will be supplied by the headmaster._

 _-Monokuma (The Headmaster)_

"Well, glad to know I won't run out of toilet paper," Chiari said as she undressed and took a shower, brushed her teeth, put on some pajamas supplied by Monokuma, which was a tank top that was a bit tight on the chest, _damn_ _you chest, damn you Reiko for mentioning it,_ as well as sweat pants. And she sat on her bed.

 _Wow, the bed feels soft,_ Chiari thought. _That's one thing Monokuma is doing right._ She rolled onto the side of her bed, pondering.

 _But... do we really have to stay here forever? What did we do to deserve this? All we did was step into the school._ Chiari snuggled into the silky bed sheets. _But for now, we have to bear it. Heh, bear, like Monokuma! Get it? Fine... But I think I can take it. We get comfort, food, and-_

"Wait, I'm adapting too easily! NOOOOOOOO- zzzzzz," Chiari suddenly fell asleep after her sudden outburst. And so ended her first day in the cruise. The waves crashing onto the boat gently rocked her to dreamland.

* * *

 _-Ding dong, Ding dong-!_

 _"Good morning students! It's now 7 am! Time to rise and shine! Get ready for another beautiful day!"_

The television turned off as Chiari slowly opened her eyes. "Five more minutes mom... Oh wait, I'm not at home. Dang it."

Chiari thought that it was all a dream. But it wasn't. "HEY! DON'T RUIN MY DREAMS NARRATOR! Wait, who am I talking to?" Chiari scratched her head in confusion.

She slowly got out of bed and got dressed for the day. Same as usual. Only that her hair bun was more messier than usual. She took a gander of her new place of residence and walked around, hopefully finding something new.

She opened the top drawer under the television, finding more tank tops and sweatpants as pajamas. On the drawers, next to the television, was a small glass bowl of butter mints, each singular one packaged in plastic wrap with a little Monokuma stamped on it. Chiari unwrapped the plastic and popped a mint in her mouth, the creamy mint melted in her mouth as she wandered in her room. _Not as good as macarons though..._

In the bottom drawer was a sewing kit, filled with sewing needles, string, and a paper containing a diagram of the human body and it's vital areas. Attached to that diagram was a little sticky note.

 _A little something to use when you need to sew! Or murder! On the diagram is the vital parts of the human body, perfect on where to stab people! Girls get a sewing kit, boys get a tool kit! Upupu!_

 _-Monokuma_

Chiari ripped the sticky note and tossed it into the the small trash can. She opened the curtains and stared at the beautiful ocean sunrise. _Maybe a little TV will calm my nerves._ Chiari reached for the TV remote and pressed a button. Only thing that popped up was a static screen. _Huh,_ she thought. _Guess it's only for the Monokuma announcements._

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Coming!" Chiari opened the door a found...

"Chiari! Dude! We're all waiting! Jeez! After you left we planned to meet in the cafeteria every morning!" Reiko scolded Chiari.

"I'm sorry. I'll come with you," Chiari followed Reiko on the deck. The sun was rising at the horizon as they were walking to the cafeteria.

They kept walking until they reached the cafeteria. After they opened the doors, they found everyone eating breakfast in different tables. Some were glaring at each other, while others were being a bit antisocial. _Guess we're still unfamiliar with each other. Well, it makes sense since someone could betray us at any time,_ Chiari thought as she and Reiko sat down at a circular table near the window wall. A few minutes of silence went by. Chiari twirled her thumbs and looked up.

"So... how are your parents? They must be worried about you, since we're stuck on a cruise," Chiari tried to start up a conversation, hoping that Reiko would respond.

Reiko froze and looked down. She took a while after thinking to say something. "W-Well..."

"Guys! You're here! Finally!" Romeo ran up to them. "Okay! Now everyone except Ayano is here!"

"Wait, Ayano isn't here?" Chiari asked.

"Yeah, Reina and Akira are headed to her room to find her," Naoki caught up to the trio.

"Well, I'll go too. Reiko, you coming?" Chiari asked.

"N-No, it's fine. I'll go eat breakfast," Reiko kept looking down and walked into the cafeteria.

 _She's acting strange. Was it something I said?_ Chiari thought as she ran back to the rooms. _-Huff- -Huff-, this is the most exercise I've ever did._

Chiari ran up to Akira and Reina, who was poking and prodding the frozen Ayano, who was still sitting on her bed with pajamas still on.

"Stop touching me..." Ayano calmly and tiredly said, still lazing on her bed.

"She's been like this since. We can't get her to move," Akira said to Chiari.

"Don't worry guys! I got this!" Chiari confidently said as she walked up to Ayano. "Ayano, get your butt out of bed or else I'll take away your games!"

Ayano's eyes widen. "NOOOOO!" She clumsily got out of bed and with the help of Akira and with little help from Reina, she barely managed to finish her morning tasks.

"Works every time! Just say you'll take away their electronics and they'll automatically respond!" Chiari laughed.

"Guess we'll have to help her every day..." Reina sighed.

"Anyway, we'd better get back. We're gonna have a meeting about how to escape this cruise," Akira said.

The four of them walked back to the cafeteria, with Ayano playing some sort of dating sim game. They ate their breakfast at last, for Chiari it mainly consisted of macarons. After eating, they all assembled in the middle of the cafeteria. Apparently the people leading the meeting was Naoki and Sousuke.

"Okay. Monokuma said we'll be here forever right? So we'll have to explore the first floor and the deck for now so we can find a way to escape. If there's no escape, at least we'll be more familiar with our surroundings!" Naoki announced to the group of confused teens.

"Y-Yeah. Monokuma told me that more rooms and menu options in our e handbooks are unlocked. Those will be useful," Sousuke said and smiled.

"Monokuma told me that there are rules we have to follow," Chiari said.

"Yes. That'll be in our handbooks as well," Ichirou replied, drinking his morning coffee.

"UUUUUGGGGHHHH!" Chiari shouted at the thought of being the responsible person to constantly reach into her pocket and show everyone information is horrifying to her.

"Gosh Chiari, what's wrong with you?" Reina said.

"Anyway, in the first floor, all we know is that there's a fancy lobby the first thing as you walk in, a A/V room, a cafeteria, locker rooms, an outdoor pool and waterslide, and carpeted stairs leading to an indoor balcony, which leads to a variety of unknown rooms and two main doors. In those doors are our bedrooms. That's all we know for now," Erik said. It's amazing how he could say that in one breath. _If you can't visualize, just look up the Disney Dream lobby. It looks similar to that, but not exactly._

"H-How!? Is your lungs that big!?" Romeo asked.

"Well, boys are always big chatterboxes," Sora continued sipping her tea along with Ki.

"Hey!" Romeo and Erik yelled at the female ninja.

"Let's split into two exact groups. That way there will be an even amount of people in each group. So there will be eight people in each group, which means that the groups will be even," Erik said.

"Erik! We get it with the even groups! You don't have to emphasize it!" Vonda said to Erik.

Erik glared at her. "I CARE ABOUT EVENESS AND SYYMMEEETTRYYYY!" _Death the Kid would be proud._ "WHO SAID THAT!?"

"Kay... I'll write down which people will be in each group," Akira said.

"But... You're blind..." Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"Oh, right!" Akira laughed in his forgetfulness.

"U-Um... Then I can!" Mami suggested.

Chiari handed her a notepad. Mami began to write down each group and their members in her surprisingly neat handwriting.

 _Group One_ _Group Two_

 _1\. Chiari_ _1\. Reina_

 _2\. Mami_ _2\. Sousuke_

 _3\. Reiko_ _3\. Akira_

 _4\. Naoki_ _4\. Ki_

 _5\. Yuzuru_ _5\. Ichirou_

 _6\. Erik_ _6\. Sora_

 _7\. Vonda_ _7\. Ayano_

 _8\. Romeo_ _8\. Shinobu_

"Okay, here are the groups," Mami handed Sousuke the notepad and the students went to their assigned groups.

"S-So, we'll meet back after an hour?" Yuzuru asked to confirm.

"Yep!" Reiko said.

"ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!" Chiari led the group to the lobby, while Reina'a group went to the indoor balcony.

* * *

"Where are we?" Chiari asked.

"You were so busy saying heroic quotes that you led us to the boiler room!" Romeo said.

"Whoops! I was caught in the moment!" Chiari giggled.

"Well, at least we know where the boiler room is..." Reiko said.

The boiler room is what a normal boiler room would look like. Unlike the other rooms, the boiler room looks more old and rusty.

"Well, let's keep going. Mami, you said that there are locker rooms correct?" Erik asked.

Mami nodded nervously. "Y-Yep! I woke up i-in the women's locker room!"

Chiari smiled. "Well then, ONWAR-"

"NO!"

"Fine!"

They exited out of the boiler room and they walked up to two doors. One saying 'Women's Locker Room' and the other saying 'Men's Locker Room'. Vonda attempted to open the door, but it was locked up tight.

"Mami... Did you lock the door after you came out?" Vonda asked.

Mami whimpered. "N-No! I d-didn't! I'm sorry!"

"Of course she didn't!" Monokuma appeared out of nowhere.

"My god, Monokuma! Please no more jumpscares!" Naoki jumped back at the sight of Monokuma.

"What do you mean by 'of course she didn't'?" Yuzuru asked.

"Well, to get in, you need to scan your handbook on the scanner to get in!" Monokuma said.

"Why do we have to use our handbooks for everything in this god damn boat!?" Chiari complained.

"Upupu! But you can only go into your own sex's locker room. For example, if a boy tried to go into the girl's locker room... Bam! Dead!" Monokuma said, ignoring Chiari's complaint. Monokuma pointed to the ceiling. On the ceiling was a big machine gun, ready to shoot anyone who breaks that rule.

"W-Wah!" Mami hid behind Yuzuru, who was also scared.

"But what if two people go in the same time, or if someone borrows someone else's handbook?" Reiko asked.

"Well, you'll figure that out soon! Upupupu!" Monokuma disappeared yet again.

"Well that just perfect!" Reiko huffed.

The group walked towards some big red doors in the end of the lobby. "What's this room? It has no label," Chiari asked.

"Eh, it doesn't say. Maybe it's where Monokuma lives!" Romeo said.

"Then we'd better not touch it. Who knows what weird punishment we'll get if we tamper with it," Erik said.

"Why not break it down! We'll figure out who's controlling the evil bear!" Reiko slammed her fists together.

"Woah, Rei! We can't take any chances!" Naoki held Reiko back. _Rei is the nickname I came up with for Reiko._

Reiko sighed. "Alright."

"H-Hey! Look over there!" Yuzuru pointed to some glass doors along with a glass wall. In fact, the entire entrance is glass. There was a flashing sign that said the 'Monokuma Convenience Store!'

"Wow! Out of all the things here, I'm actually excited!" Chiari ran inside.

It's what a normal Japanese convenience store would look like. Except there's red carpet on the floor, like the cafeteria. There was food, useful items, manga, Monomachine, wait, what?

"What's that?" Romeo asked, pointing at the weird vending machine.

"I'm glad you asked!" Monokuma said.

"How many times are you gonna pop up today!?" Vonda hid behind Erik.

"More than you think. Now! This is what you can use to get gifts to give to other students! You know, you need to increase your bonds with each other!" Monokuma presented a strange coin. "But you can can only use Monokuma coins that you can find around the cruise! In fact, stealing anything here without paying is punishable unless you get my permission! Here's five coins to start with!" Monokuma handed out five coins to each student. "Have fun killing!"

"You guys! Don't listen to anything he says! My magic wand will help you!" Monomi waved her wand, only to be punched by Monokuma again, and they both disappeared.

"Well, let's give it a try!" Chiari inserted a coin into the machine slot. The machine rumbled and a toy capsule fell out. Chiari struggled to open the capsule, and once it opened, a whole bottle of mineral water popped out.

"How did this fit into a tiny plastic capsule!?" Chiari was fascinated.

"Oh, oh! Let me try!" Reiko picked up her coin and inserted it into the machine. An even smaller capsule came out of the machine. And...

"What in the living heck is this!?" Reiko pulled out... a hand bra?

"Oh my god, I'm dying!" Romeo laughed and pointed at Reiko.

"Okay, let me try again!" Reiko repeated the process four more times.

* * *

"WHY DO I KEEP GETTING FREAKIN HAND BRAS!?" Reiko rage quitted and stormed out the convenience store.

"I can't take it anymore!" Romeo kept laughing and dying, while Mami and the others left for the cafeteria.

"Well... Let me try again," Chiari inserted the coin, opened the capsule, and found...

"Wow! A daisy in a vase! I still don't know how that fit in this tiny thing," Chiari held the vase. _I bet this will cheer Reiko up! Pfft, hand bras._

Chiari dragged the dying Romeo back to the cafeteria to meet back up with the rest of the students. As she was dragging the now wheezing Romeo, she glanced at a set of stairs on the indoor balcony, which she assumed led to the second floor, was blocked.

"Hey, Romeo... Why do you think the second floor stairs are blocked?" Chiari pointed upwards.

"HaHaHaHa! Hold on a sec... -cough-cough-. Okay... I'm better now," Romeo wiped a tear from laughing so much. "I have no idea why, but I have a hunch that in order to unlock the second floor, something bad has to happen."

"That's an... odd hunch," Chiari shrugged her shoulders.

"G-Guys! Everyone's a-already a-at the cafeteria!" Mami called out to the duo.

"Yeah! Ichirou's getting pissed over here, waiting for you guys!" Erik waved to call them over.

"Like anyone even cares..." Reina mumbled.

"Reina, immaturity won't help in our predicament," Ki said.

"Just come over!" Shinobu said.

"Coming!" Chiari tugged on Romeo's clothes and dragged him to the cafeteria.

"I can walk you know!"

"I don't care!"

* * *

 **Hand Bras! XD**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Free times will be in the next chapter! Let me know if you want this humor to continue!**

 **Oh! And by the way, if you haven't noticed, this fanfic has a new cover! Yep! I made it through Paint Tool SAI, so I hope it meets your expectations. See ya!**

 **...**

 **And yes... I did make a change in her information to make her like macarons. Go look in the prologue. But macarons taste like heaven! They're my favorite sweets!**


	7. Chapter 1-2: Free Time Part 1

**A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter. That is all. For now, some of the girls will get their freetime events in this chapter. Some of the boys will get their freetime events in the next chapter.**

* * *

Chiari threw Romeo into the cafeteria and placed the daisy in a vase onto the table. She sat down into a chair, glancing at the uncomfortable faces around her. _What's with all the silence?_ She sighed and started to speak up.

"Okaay... So did anyone find something?" Chiari said with her awkward smile.

"Well, we are staring at each other silently. Does it look like we found anything important!?" Reina yelled and threw her hands up in frustration.

"Putting that aside, we should at least share something," Ichirou stood up.

"Okay. Can I go first?" Ki raises her hand unexpectedly.

"Um.. Sure!" Sousuke nodded his head.

Ki stood up. "The first thing we see as we walk up the stairs is the doors to our bedrooms, which we already know. Next to that is a room on the left where we can do our laundry. There is also a storage room filled with goods and clothing, just for emergencies. On the right side of the bedroom doors is a bath and sauna, but it's locked for maintenance as Monokuma told us. The stairs to the second floor of the cruise are locked. There is also an infirmary, which is also locked. That is all." Ki sat back down.

"Well... Umm, Chiari's group! Do you have anything you need to tell us?" Akira tilted his head and smiled.

"You better have good news," Shinobu said.

Mami shrunk into her seat. "W-Well... I-I can do that!"

"Go on," Naoki gestured for Mami to continue.

"W-Well, on the right side of the lobby is a convenience s-store, and there is a vending machine to buy gifts, only you have to use Monokuma coins to pay for everything in there, which y-you can find around the cruise," Mami shyly announced. Her voice was a bit quiet that everyone had to lean in closer to hear her. "On the left side of the lobby i-is the l-locker rooms t-that I woke up in, w-which leads to the outdoor p-pool and waterslide. But we need to use our e Handbooks to get inside t-them."

"But only girls can only go into the girl's locker room and boys can only go into the boy's locker room," Yuzuru said. "There's also a boiler room, but there's nothing much in there to worry about."

"Oh! And there's also big red fancy velvet and gold doors that we don't know where it leads," Reiko said. "Probably where Monokuma lives, or something important."

And then silence.

"Is that all?" Erik asked everyone.

"Yeah," Vonda said.

"Well, guess there's nothing we can do about it," Romeo shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, let's break and at least get used to our surroundings," Sora said, eating a butter mint.

Ayano sighed and continued playing her game.

Chiari left the cafeteria and walked towards the convenience store. "Well, might at least use these coins."

She insert one coin into the slot and then opened the capsule, she found an action figure inside. "Hmm, I think someone here would like this."

Chiari walked back to the cafeteria to get a little snack before she would come back to her room, and she opened the glass doors.

Everyone one by one left the cafeteria in awkwardness, except for three people, including Chiari. _Well, guess I should give Reiko this daisy before it wilts,_ Chiari thought. Luckily for her, Reiko was one of the people staying the cafeteria.

* * *

 **Spend Freetime With Reiko?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

"Hey, Rei!" Chiari walked over to Reiko and sat down next to her.

"Sup?" Reiko turned her head to Chiari.

"Nothing, just want to hang out!" Chiari smiled.

"Oh! Sure! Go ahead!" Reiko looked at what's in Chiari's hands. "Is that a daisy?"

"Oh! Uh... yeah!" Chiari lifted the vase. "While you raging about your hand bra predicament, I got this!"

Reiko cringed. "Don't remind me."

Chiari spent some time talking about Reiko's yokai hunting trophies, mostly consisted about Reiko bragging about her trophies.

 _Ten minutes later..._

It looks like Chiari and Reiko got a little closer today.

* * *

 **Would You Like to Give a Present?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

 **Select the Present You Would Like to Give:**

 **[Daisy in a Vase]**

[Mineral Water]

[Action Figure]

* * *

"Oh! You meant to give this to me?" Reiko asked.

"Yep! Besides, you like daisies right?" Chiari gave the daisy to Reiko.

"Thank you! I'll try to take good care of it!" Reiko smiled and placed the vase on the table.

Chiari scratched her head. "So, about your parents... Did I say something wrong?" Chiari asked.

Reiko choked up and looked away. It took a while for her to respond. _"They're n-not here anymore,"_ she mumbled.

Chiari looked at her in confusion. "Wha-"

"Anyway!" Reiko forced a smile and faked a laugh. "What are your interests?"

Chiari looked suspiciously at Reiko, and sighed. "Well, I do like to play video games and watch anime."

Reiko smiled. "Video games are cool. Some video games have to do with combat, I like to play those."

"Okay, what do you like to do?" Chiari asked.

Reiko thought for a bit. "Well, I like to hunt yokai. You already know that. I also like to do tomboy stuff. But the thing I like to do the most, is to go to the firework festivals!"

Chiari smiled and adjusted her glasses. "Yeah! I've been to some of them with my younger brother. We wore yukatas and ate lots of food!"

Reiko laughed. "Hell yeah! I also like the environment! Children laughing, lanterns everywhere, the stars at night. _-Sigh-_ , I wish we can get out of here soon."

Chiari wrapped her arm around Reiko. "We definitely get out of here together!"

Reiko put her fist up into the air. "Yeah!"

Chiari laughed and fell down. "You look ridiculous while doing that!"

Reiko blushed, embarrassed. "H-Hey! Let's see you do it better!"

Chiari giggled. "No, I can't. Well, it was nice getting to know you better!"

"Yeah! I guess! I'll see you later!" Reiko stood up and carried her daisy in a vase to her room.

"... Reiko?"

Reiko turned around. "Hmm?"

Chiari smiled. "If you need someone to talk to, just ask."

Reiko gave a warm grin. "Mmm, kay."

 **Reiko's Freetime: Over**

* * *

 _Well, might as well look at the rules while I have the time,_ Chiari thought as she lazily took her handbook out of her pocket and slammed the 'Rules' menu tab.

 **Rules:**

 **1\. Students may only stay in the cruise. Attempting to jump out or swim in the ocean will be punished.**

 **2\. During 10 pm-7 am is when "Nighttime" occurs. Water will turn off at that time and some rooms will be off limits.**

 **3\. Sleeping anywhere other than the bedrooms will be punished accordingly.**

 **4\. You are free to explore the cruise at anytime, with minimal restrictions.**

 **5\. Attempted violence at Monokuma is prohibited will be severely punished. (But feel free to punch Monomi)**

 **6\. Anyone that kills another student will become the "blackened" and will graduate unless they are found out.**

 **7\. Loaning e Handbooks to other students or two people going into the locker rooms at the same time is prohibited.**

 **8\. Monokuma may add additional rules if necessary.**

 _Hmm... Number six sounds weird. Nothing to worry about now._ Chiari put her e Handbook back in her pocket and looked at the remaining person in the cafeteria. Not surprisingly, it's Ayano, still using her electronics.

"Umm, Ayano... Hello?" Chiari waved her hand in front of Ayano's face. It took a while for Ayano to say something.

"...What the hell do you want?" Ayano sighed in annoyance.

Chiari sat down next to her. "Well, I just-"

"You want to hang out with me, don't you?" Ayano said, still not looking at Chiari.

Chiari was surprised. "How did you know?"

Ayano rolled her eyes. "I knew you were hanging out with Reiko, so I assume you are going to hang out at me since I'm the only one here besides you. Just go away, you're a waste of my time."

* * *

 **Spend Freetime With Ayano?**

 **[Yes, Even Though She Said No]** [No]

* * *

Chiari sighed and looked at what Ayano was playing. "Oh! I love Ace-Attorney!"

Ayano's eyes went wide and looked at Chiari. "Y-You like this game?"

Chiari nodded. "I've only played the first game though. Oh! You're replaying the fourth case?"

It was the first time Chiari has ever seen a hint of passion from her. "Y-Yeah! I like replaying the game over and over again!" Ayano said.

Chiari giggled. "What other games do you like to play?"

Ayano's eyes look like they were sparkling. "I also like otome games! W-Which one do you you like?"

Chiari began to sweat, since she has not played any otome games before, and she's worried that Ayano will stop talking to her.

Chiari and Ayano talked about Ace-Attorney with a few awkward silences.

 _Fifteen minutes later..._

It looks like Chiari and Ayano got a little closer today... somehow.

* * *

 **Would You Like to Give a Present?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

 **Select the Present You Would Like to Give:**

[Mineral Water]

 **[Action Figure]**

* * *

"I-Is that the Pheonix Wright action figure!? H-He's even doing his objection pose!" Ayano snatched the figure and stuffed it in her bag. _"T-Thank you..."_

Chiari had a smug look on her face. "What did you say?"

Ayano tried her best to look bored. "Nothing, asshole."

Chiari laughed softly. "You know, for a person that usually doesn't talk to people, you sure act like a total nerd when talking about games!"

Ayano sighed. "Well, I just like games. Is anything wrong with that?" She shot a serious glare at Chiari.

"U-Uh, n-no! N-Nothing wrong at all!" Chiari stuttered.

Ayano calmed down. "You're hopeless. Here." She handed Chiari a disk.

"W-What?" Chiari held the disk in her hand. "Why exactly?"

"It's one of my dating sim games. Play it when you get back in your room. Everyone was given a game console and a game controller today," Ayano turned back to her game. "Promise to return it."

Chiari froze with the disk about to fall out of her hands. _What... just... happened? W-Why is she being generous?_

"Uhhhhhhh..." Chiari slowly backed away from the table.

"Stop that. It's annoying," Ayano switched to another game. "Just go away."

Chiari nervously laughed and walked away. _She's a mystery..._

 **Ayano's Freetime: Over (Well... That was a short one.)**

* * *

 _Well, that was short lived._ Chiari yawned and sat on the stairway to the indoor balcony. Her eyelids began to close as she struggled to stay awake. _Guess a little break... wouldn't be... bad_ _..._

...

...

 _"Hey, Chi! Wake up!"_

"Hmm? Why is that my nickname?" Chiari mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"You fell asleep on the stairs. Kind of a weird place to sleep on," Naoki sat next to the sleepy Chiari.

"Yeah. Didn't get a good night's rest last time," Chiari muttered. _Why do I keep bumping into people?_

"Yeah... I've never slept on a boat before, especially since we're in a do or die situation," Naoki smiled awkwardly.

Chiari leaned against the railing. " _-Yawn-_. Well, can't help it I guess."

Naoki leaned back on the stairs. "Meh. I just seriously hope we get out of here. If nothing exciting happens, this so called 'killing game' is pointless."

Chiari thought for a bit. "Guess you have a point."

Naoki pat Chiari on the head. "You should probably get some rest. Besides, who knows what Monokuma will do next? Hey! that kinda rhymed!"

Chiari pushed Naoki's hand away. "Hey! Don't treat me like a child!" Chiari childishly pouted.

Naoki laughed. "Okay, okay! Good night! Well in this case, good evening!"

Chiari tiredly waved goodbye to Naoki and walked up the stairs towards the bedrooms. She used her key to unlock her room and opened the door, and then removed her sweatshirt for the sweet relief of lightness on her body. Chiari then walked to the bathroom, splashed some water on her face, and turned off the water. _Finally time for a nap,_ Chiari thought as she jumped onto her soft bed. _Good night to me..._

* * *

 _-Ding dong, Ding dong-!_

 _"Attention students! It is now 10:00 pm! Soon the doors to the cafeteria will be locked, and entering it during nighttime is strictly prohibited! Good night! Sleep tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite!"_

"Aww, come on! I slept too long!" Chiari whined as she woke up. She opened the curtains to find a starry night sky. _Yep, definitely slept to nighttime._

Chiari rolled around on her bed for quite a while, thinking about what to do in the meantime. _The cafeteria is locked, so no point in getting a nighttime snack and a glass of warm milk,_ Chiari pondered.

 _-Ding!-_

 _"Oh, by the way, the bath and sauna are now open! Just saying! Also, mixed bathing is not allowed!"_

"Guess that's something to do," Chiari grabbed a towel and bathing supplies and exited the bedroom area. _Now where is the bath? Oh wait, there it is..._ She looked to her right and opened the doors to a little waiting room where people wait to bathe. It was kinda comfortable, with a wooden floor, some aloe plants, and small lockers to store items in.

Chiari got undressed and put on a towel and walked to the baths. It was kinda hard to see considering there was steam everywhere. As Chiari bathed, and then dived into the hot, steaming bath water, someone was there with her.

"Mami!? How... what?" Chiari was surprised when she saw Mami in the bathtub with her. _Shouldn't she be not allowed in here considering she should be connected to her IV?_

"Don't w-worry. I can be here as long a-as I stay here for a s-short amount of time," Mami giggled at Chiari's expression. "B-Besides, I've never been in a b-bath before! I-I've always wanted to!"

"O-Oh..." Chiari remained confused as they sat in silence, besides the sound of the rippling water.

* * *

 **Spend Freetime With Mami?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

"S-So, how did you come here so quickly?" Chiari asked.

"W-Well... After Monokuma made the announcement, I-I was excited to finally e-experience a public b-bath, like I said e-earlier." Mami began to relax in the steaming hot water.

"Oh, what else do you want to do?" Chiari said, trying to stir up the conversation.

"W-Well..." Mami stuttered.

Mami talked about her long list of things of new experiences she wants to do. It was weird seeing her talk so much than she usually does.

 _Eight minutes later..._

It looks like Chiari and Mami got a little closer today.

* * *

 **Would You Like to Give a Present?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

 **Select the Present You Would Like to Give:**

 **[Mineral Water]**

* * *

"O-Oh! It's c-called mineral water isn't i-it?" Mami looked a little happy. "T-Thank you! I've always w-wanted to try this! I've only had regular w-water, I've always wanted t-to try fruit f-flavored water and m-mineral water!"

Chiari smiled softly. "You're welcome."

Mami put the bottle aside and sat in the bath in silence once more.

"U-Um... So, ultimate patient huh? So could you tell me how you got that talent?" Chiari untied her hair and let her hair down.

Mami tilted her head. "W-Well, when I-I was young, I had this u-unnamed disease."

Chiari frowned. "I'm sorry about that..."

"N-No! Don't f-feel sorry! I'm a little better now, s-so there's no need t-to worry!" Mami assured.

"Well... Continue!" Chiari gestured for Mami to keep talking.

Mami cupped her hands together. "It affected most of m-my body, and I-I had to get lots o-of procedures. Meaning s-surgeries and i-implants. They s-said it was a-a miracle that I-I survived."

Chiari tilted her head. "And that's how Hope's Peak found you out?"

Mami nodded. "T-They w-were amazed of how I-I survived a d-deadly illness, and o-of how I s-stayed in a h-hospital for t-twelve years straight."

Chiari clapped. "Wow! That is amazing!"

Mami blushed and smiled. "I-It's not that amazing."

"No! It is! I mean, not the illness. The fact that Hope's Peak found you that way! You must be special!" Chiari praised Mami.

Mami blushed even harder. "W-Well then... Thank y-you!" She scooted towards Chiari. "N-Now, c-can I compliment y-you?"

Chiari became a little flustered. "U-Uh, why?"

Mami giggled a little bit. "Y-You look cute w-with your hair d-down! I've never seen you l-like this! You should let your hair down m-more often!"

Chiari became even more flustered and her face started to redden. "T-That's not true! I look hideous with my hair down. I-I look hideous all together!"

"Why i-is that?" Mami puffed her cheeks to show that she's angry. "I-I think your o-opinion is false. You look beautiful."

Chiari gave a nervous laugh and waved her hands, trying to avoid the topic. "Hehehe... We should leave the bathtub before our hands turn into raisins."

Mami frowned, then weakly smiled. "O-Okay. S-Sounds good."

Chiari helped Mami out of the bathtub, dried themselves with towels, and changed into their clothes. Chiari accompanied Mami to the bedrooms.

 **Mami's Freetime: Over**

* * *

"I-I'm sorry t-to bother you at the bath," Mami clutched her IV weakly and apologized.

Chiari smiled widely. "You didn't bother me at all! I actually hope to see you again!"

Mami's eyes widened. "R-Really?"

Chiari giggled childishly. "Of course!"

Mami smiled. "T-Then I'll s-see you in t-the morning!" She limped towards her bedroom.

Chiari unlocked the door to her bedroom and changed into her pajamas, and rocked off to dreamland once more. Only, a few hours later...

 _-Ding dong, Ding dong-!_

 _"Students! Please come to the cafeteria immediately! Absence is not allowed!"_

Chiari's eye twitched. "WHAT THE HELL MONOKUMA!? I just started to dream about tacos and rainbows!" She groaned as she carried her tired body and her pillow out of her room, to the cafeteria. As she walked down the stairs, she found Akira and Sousuke in their pajamas, waiting for the cafeteria to be unlocked.

" _-Yawn-_ , Oh. You guys heard the announcement too..." Chiari clumsily walked towards them, snuggling her pillow.

Sousuke wore a simple light gray loose v-neck t-shirt with green camouflage pajama pants. Akira wore a over sized light blue button-up shirt and his hair was down. Sousuke look confusedly at the messy Chiari.

"Uhh, why are you holding a pillow like a teddy bear?" Sousuke pointed at Chiari.

"Shut up! I was sleeping!" Chiari huffed.

Akira crossed his arms. "Putting that aside, Monokuma better have a good reason to wake us up at one in the morning."

Suddenly, everyone else walked down the stairs, still in their pajamas. Ayano came last, of course.

"Man! I just had the best dream, and Monokuma's voice gave me a headache! Honestly, it sounds like a teenage boy going through puberty!" Reiko scratched her head.

"W-Whatever Monokuma's gonna tell us, it better be good," Yuzuru helped Mami down the stairs. Mami had an awkward, flustered look on her face.

"Ugh. Why can't this wait until the morning!?" Shinobu grunted. Ki was beside her, in silence.

Vonda and Erik rubbed their eyes as they slid down the stairs. "Mmm..." Vonda whined in silence and Erik dragged her down the stairs.

Reina and Romeo walked down the stairs to the cafeteria next, not bothering to talk so they would save their energy for yelling at Monokuma later. Sora calmly walked towards the group, shooting a few glares at certain males, and Ichirou stretched and yawned.

"Why at this hour?" Ichirou put his hands on his hips.

"That's what everyone else is asking..." Sora looked angrily at Ichirou.

"Well, at least we can get a midnight snack while we're at it!" Akira said, smiling as usual.

Chiari was a bit annoyed about everyone complaining about Monokuma waking everyone up at this time. She grumbled annoyingly and interrupted their conversation.

"Oh my god, shut up! Look, we'll see what he wants, then we can get our precious beauty sleep, alright!? Complaining won't get us anywhere!" Chiari flung her pillow everywhere as she yelled at the students.

"...She's right. There's no use in whining about it. It'll only bring us to nothing..." Ki said in a serious voice. It's rare for her to speak up like this.

"We should go. The cafeteria should be open by now..." Naoki said. The lights to the cafeteria flickered as they attempted to turn on.

Chiari pushed the door open and everyone groaned as they walked in to sit down. Meanwhile, Ayano was standing still. It took a while for her to get out of her video game trance and walk in. After she sat down, Monokuma and Monomi popped onto the counter, looking cheery as usual.

"Welcome my fellow students! Sorry for calling you here at this moment. Oh, who am I kidding! Why would be sorry!?" Monokuma laughed.

Monomi glared at Monokuma. "You should be sorry! These precious kids need their sleep!"

Monokuma kicked her off the counter. "Oh, shut up! You're not their mom! Anyway, you may have wondered why I brought you here!"

Reina slammed the table. "You better tell us!" Romeo as well stood up beside his sister.

Monokuma giggled. "Well..."

Chiari sighed. "Go on..."

Monokuma crossed his small arms. "I am here to present... a motive."

* * *

 **Now, before you complain in the reviews... Yes, the motive is so early in this SYOC. Trust me... It's not what you think. So school's started for me. Yayyy...**


	8. Chapter 1-3: Free Time Part 2

**Hallooo peeps! Back again with another chapter! This time, the boys get their free times. And just to note... If a person dies and they never got their free time event, or if their backstory or character isn't explained, I'll make an extra chapter containing their own special free time event with Chiari. JessJess out!**

* * *

"Monokuma... What the hell?" Chiari sighed.

"What do you mean by motive?" Erik asked.

Monokuma cackled creepily. "I mean a motive to make you kill each other!"

Naoki groaned. "Again with the killing... It's not happening!"

"This is pointless... What is even the point of this?" Sora crossed her arms.

"Why put the motive so early? We only stayed her for two days..." Chiari pointed out.

Monokuma's face was red, and steam was bursting out of his ears, proving that shit's going to happen. "I don't care what you idiots are gonna say! You are going to listen to me whether you like it or not!"

"Whatever. It's the middle of the freaking night. Get on with it," Ichirou turned his head away, bored.

Monokuma began to calm down after punching Monomi a couple times. "Please line up outside the A/V Room immediately!"

Everyone slowly forced themselves out of the cafeteria, the echoing footsteps rung through the cruise and they walked towards the A/V Room. Monokuma stuck a sign on the wall that says 'Only one person can go in at a time!' in sloppy handwriting. So sloppy that Chiari thought her glasses weren't working right.

"Now! There will be DVD's with each your names labeled on it. You play your own video, and watching another student's video is prohibited! Now have fun!" Monokuma disappeared.

Monomi looked at the students seriously. "Whatever you watch, don't give in!" Monomi disappeared in sparkles.

The first one to go in was Chiari, of course.

"Chiari! You go in first!" Reiko shoved Chiari in.

"Why? Are you scared?" Chiari angrily asked.

"N-No! just go!" Reiko slammed the door closed. Leaving Chiari in the dimly lit room.

 _Guess I have no choice..._ Chiari rummaged through the box of disks and found the one with her name on it. 'Chiari Yamamoto: Motive DVD'. She inserted the DVD in the slot to project on the screen. What she saw on the screen was...

 _"Wow, I didn't know so many people were talented with a variety of weird talents!"_

 _Wait, what? Is that...?_ Chiari gasped as she saw what happened. _Eiji..._

 _"I know right? And I'm going there soon!"_

Chiari was still in awe as she saw the event that happened before the killing game took place. _I hope he's okay..._

 _"So, will you miss me?"_

 _"Of course! I'll miss you too! You're also going to school soon!"_

Chiari smiled as she saw herself and Eiji making a pinkie promise. She couldn't believe this was the motive. _What is Monokuma going with this? Sure, heartwarming moments from home will make me want to escape... But not to kill someone!_

Suddenly, the screen went black... And Monokuma's voice boomed through the speakers. _"Aww! What a heartwarming moment between family members! But what would happen if that relationship was broken?"_

The screen flashed a picture of the same room, only with what looks like an explosion took place. Eiji was nowhere to be seen, and blood was splattered on the floor. Chiari's eyes widened as she became really pale with a bit of blue on her face. _W-What!?_

 _"Whoa! What happened? Where is your sweet little brother and your parents?"_ Then the screen flashed the words... 'Kill someone to find out!'

"N-No... NOOO!" Chiari screamed, clutching her hair and backing away and leaning against the wall, shaking. "N-No... What happened!? Did you k-kill them you bastard!?"

Monokuma laughed, seeing the sight of Chiari feeling despair. _"Upupu! Can't you read? You have to kill each other to find out!"_ the speakers began to turn off after that announcement.

Chiari's mind raced as she rolled up into a ball against the wall. _It's fake! It's gotta be fake!_ Chiari kept denying the fact of what she saw. _I have to get out of here! I... I..._ Chiari sniffed, and tears began to fall down her face. _I... I'll kill to get out..._

* * *

"W-Whoa! Chiari! W-We heard muffled s-screaming! And... y-you look t-terrible!" Mami was shocked and rushed to comfort Chiari, who looked really pale and traumatized.

"I-I'm okay..." Chiari ignored the crowd around her and put her hands on her face as she slid down the wall next to the A/V room doors.

"This is not like her to look so sad, she was always so positive!" Romeo said with a childish frown.

"...That means we should be careful of what Monokuma has in store for us in there..." Ki looked at the A/V Room with a serious look.

"...So who's going in next?" Yuzuru hesitated before asking that.

"Why the hell should we go in? Let's just not!" Shinobu started to walk away to her room.

The speakers turned on again. _"Oh! And by the way, don't even bother walking away from this... You'll be punished!"_

"Shut up!" Reina shouted at the speakers.

"Okay then, Shinobu! Then you go in next!" Akira smiled angrily and Sousuke shoved Shinobu into the room.

" _-Sigh-..._ Fine... If that's what you want," Shinobu calmly said as she slammed the door shut.

A couple minutes later, the noises from the inside weren't very pleasant.

 _"Wh-What? This can't be happening!"_

The other students looked at each other in fear as they heard the shocked voice of Shinobu. She came out of the A/V Room, with a calm, yet a look where she's about to loose her cool. She said nothing as she walked away to the cafeteria to calm down with some royal milk tea.

One by one, the other students walked in to the A/V Room. When they come out, they're looks on their faces are either shocked, in denial, or full of despair.

"C-Could it be true?" Reiko looked pale as she clutched her sides with fear. "W-Why!?"

Chiari looked shocked at Reiko. "R-Reiko?"

Reiko's face turned blue. "I-I'm sorry... I have to leave..." She walked up the stairs slowly.

"Yeah... M-Me too..." Shinobu ran up to the bedrooms.

"U-Um, I'll go too..." Sousuke followed the two girls.

"Same here..." Ichirou followed as well.

Ayano silently walked up the stairs, looking bored, yet looked shocked and a little pale. She's pretty hard to read. Ki silently walked away, Mami whimpered as she followed Yuzuru, Akira had the help of Naoki as they walked up the stairs, Vonda and Erik were a little bit distant from each other as they stepped up to the bedrooms, and the rest followed.

"W-Why did we deserve this?" Chiari whimpered as she walked inside of her room. "Eiji... Mom... Dad..."

She kept repeating those words as she struggled to fall asleep. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"W-What time is it?" Chiari woke up and looked at the clock in her room. '4:30' _Guess that video hit me hard that I can't sleep..._ Chiari thought as she slowly got out of bed, put on her sweatshirt over her pajama tank top and sweatpants, and started to walk out of her room and wandered around the cruise. She opened the main glass doors leading outside. The sun still wasn't up and the night winds brushed against her skin and her hair slightly flown in the wind as she watched the ocean and the starry sky.

 _"What are you doing here?"_

Chiari jumped. "R-Romeo! What the heck!? D-Don't scare me!"

Romeo faked a smile and laughed. "What? Did my fabulous appearance scare you?"

Chiari sighed. "Whatever..."

* * *

 **Spend Freetime With Romeo?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

Chiari turned her hear towards Romeo. "S-So... What did you see in your video?"

Romeo looked away. "I'd rather not say."

Chiari looked down at the ocean waves. "Oh... Sorry..."

They leaned against the deck in silence, with a few small jokes from Romeo.

 _Eleven minutes later..._

It looks like Chiari and Romeo got a little closer today.

* * *

 **Would You Like to Give a Present?**

[Yes] **[No, cause she didn't have any freaking time to stop by at the machine]**

* * *

"..."

"What? No present?" Romeo looked at Chiari's guilty face.

Chiari nervously laughed and scratched her head. "Yeah... I only have two coins left, and I didn't know you'd be here..."

Romeo giggled. "Well then, instead of you giving me a gift, how 'bout I give you one?"

Chiari looked confusedly at Romeo. "Hmm?"

Romeo handed three coins to her. "Monokuma gave us these while you guys were exploring the convenience store. You can have 'em. I don't want them anyway."

Chiari smiled. "T-Thanks."

 _Three coins obtained!_

"Sooo..." Chiari awkwardly said. "I like your songs! How do you manage to sing in front of a crowd?"

Romeo sighed and crossed his arms. "Well, I just don't like to disappoint my fans, so I have to sing to them."

Chiari's smile turned into a frown. "You don't look so happy. What's up?"

Romeo faked a smile. "No, nothing! Everything's all right... Besides the video crap we went through..."

Chiari hid a laugh. "Yeah, it was definitely crap."

Romeo looked up at Chiari. "Also, I... just lost my intrest to sing I guess. But my fans would be furious if I quit... not that they're here to support me anymore..."

She saw that Romeo wasn't being his jokester self, so Chiari cheerfully smiled. "Don't worry! I bet you'll gain your intrest back soon!"

Romeo then tilted his head in confusion. "I've been meaning to ask, why are you here?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep, as usual." Chiari answered. "Guess everything is too much to handle."

Romeo smirked. "You're too much to handle."

"Hey!" Chiari yelled.

Romeo laughed. "I mean in a good way! You're optimism, you're craziness, you're beauty, it's too much!"

Chiari crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks angrily. "Hmph! I bet you say that to every girl!" She looked away and frowned. "First Mami, now you!"

Romeo's eyes widen. "Woah! What's with the outburst! I just complimented you!"

Chiari calmed down. "I'm sorry, I just never received compliments before. All I received were insults back then." Chiari weakly smiled. "I'm just not used to it."

Romeo had a sorry look on his face. "Well, forget those people! They're all assholes anyway!"

Chiari giggled. "Yeah, I guess!"

Romeo cheerfully smiled and waved goodbye to Chiari as he went to the convenience store to get some snacks for breakfast, since the cafeteria was still closed. But still, he had some sort of a sad look in his eyes. Chiari sadly shrugged it off and decided to get more items from the machine, just so she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

 **Romeo's Freetime: Over**

* * *

Chiari open the glass doors to the convenience store and stepped towards the machine. She looked to the left and saw Romeo sneaking in some potato chips and started to rapidly munch on them. Chiari snorted as she hid a laugh seeing Romeo being ridiculous as usual. She inserted two coins in, and the machine shook and popped out a purple plastic toy capsule. Inside was a pink plastic pen with a pink feather pen topper on it. Chiari smirked evilly. _I have a GOOD idea who this is going to. Muahahaha!- -Cough cough-._ She tried again with only one coin, and picked up a wizard's hat. _I still don't know how that fit in there..._

She quickly turned to Romeo, who was now drinking water with chip crumbs on his face. She slowly backed away and looked the time near the checkout counter. 5:30 am. _Still have a few more hours to spend..._ she thought as she tip toed out of the store and up the stairs into her room. Chiari took off her sweatshirt and then decided to explore the handbook a little more. She looked at the other apps. There was one called, 'Truth Bullets', which was inaccessible. Another app is called 'Autopsy Reports'. _What?_ She was confused with the fact that she even needed this app, but she decided not to bother with it.

She already knew there was a profile app and a rules/regulations app. There was also some mobile games, but they're just simple puzzle games and mystery games. But what catched her eye the most was the map app. She pressed the application and a digital map popped up on the screen showing the first floor, plus the indoor balcony and the deck with the pool and waterslide. _This might be useful,_ Chiari thought and turned the e-Handbook off. She decided to take a little nap until the sun rises.

 _"Will I really have to kill to get out and rescue my family?"_

* * *

"Chiariii! Get up!" A voice was heard as Chiari grudgingly lifted her head off her comfy pillow.

"Whaaat?" Chiari whined.

"You're late! Again!" Erik crossed his arms and dragged Chiari off the bed.

"Ow!" She slammed onto the floor on her butt. "How did you get in my room anyway!?"

Erik giggled. "You left it unlocked."

Chiari groaned. "Get out. I'll get changed."

Erik smiled. "Aww, why? Your bed is actually comfy! And at least let me organize your room!"

Chiari had a scary look on her face. "Get. Out."

Erik nervously laughed. "Oh, all right."

Don't ever wake Chiari up. She'll turn into a monster. The more you know.

Chiari opened her closet and changed into her usual outfit. She hesitated before remembering what Romeo said, and decided to keep her hair down, as she never does that.

"Alright... I'm good." Chiari glared at Erik.

Erik put his hands up. "Okay, okay! I get it! I'm sorry! Oh, by the way... Nice hair style! I love it!"

Chiari put up a tsundere look, blushed, and looked away. "Y-Yeah, whatever..."

They walked down the stairs and opened the cafeteria doors and saw everyone, either had a calm, traumatized, or scared look on their faces. _Looks like me, Romeo, and Erik are the few people that recovered from that video..._ Chiari and Erik leaned against the wall, not knowing what to do.

* * *

 **Spend Freetime With Erik?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

Chiari and Erik had a little bit of small talk about random topics.

 _7 minutes later..._

It looks like Chiari and Erik got a little closer today.

* * *

 **Would You Like to Give a Present?**

 **[Yes]** [No]

* * *

 **Select the Present You Would Like to Give:**

[Pink Pen]

 **[Wizard Hat]**

* * *

Erik looked confused. "Uuuuhhhh..."

"What? I just wanted to give something!" Chiari said.

"No! It's awesome! It's just... Why give it to me?" Erik took the hat.

"Well, you're the magician, might as well give you something magical!" Chiari smiled.

Erik gratefully accepted the wizard's hat. "So... Are you okay after that video? You were a bit more shocked than everyone else when you exited that A/V room."

Chiari sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Usually macarons make me feel better."

Erik looked confusedly at Chiari. "Why maca-,"

 _"-Munch, munch-"_

"Where did you get that?" Erik asked.

"Don't ask," Chiari kept munching on her cookies and cream flavored macaron.

Erik laughed. "So, do you want me to show you a magic trick?"

Chiari cleaned her hands from crumbs. "Sure! I actually haven't watched a magic show ever since I was a kid!"

Erik did one of the classics. The hat trick. He snatched Chiari's macaron and carefully placed it inside his magician hat.

"Hey!" Chiari said with a mouthful of food.

"Please clean up, it's bothering me," Erik said as he tipped the hat over. "Do you see the macaron?"

Chiari crossed her arms. "Yeah... Gimmie..."

Erik ignored Chiari's plead and lifted the hat up, shaking it a bit, then tilting it back towards her.

"Gone! Vanished!" Erik proudly said. "Oh, and don't even bother finding a secret to this, I do it differently."

While Chiari was weeping over a pastry, everyone else started to finish eating breakfast.

"Should we start the meeting?" Sousuke turned around in his chair, trying his best not to laugh at the current situation.

"Okay. It's almost noon anyway," Erik answered, sitting down in a chair next to Vonda.

 **Erik's Freetime: Over**

* * *

"Hmph..." Chiari puffed her cheeks in anger while munching on a cookie.

"Chiari, how the hell do you eat that much sweets and not have high blood sugar, and not gain any weight?" Shinobu asked curiously.

"Fast metabolism," Chiari said quickly as she sipped on a milkshake.

Shinobu cringed at Chiari's eating habits. "...That still doesn't explain the blood sug-,"

"We don't need to talk about that. Right now, we need to focus on the topic at hand." Ichirou said, getting back on track.

"This is boring..." Ayano stood up from her chair and attempted to find a quiet, isolated spot to play an otome game.

"Yeah! Like those creepy videos!" Reiko said, trying her best to look positive.

"Ugh, fine," Chiari set down her milkshake on the table and leaned back in her chair. Everyone was mostly silent during the meeting, with a few small talk here and there.

"So... The v-videos..." Mami said, breaking the ice.

"They all shown something traumatic in each of them, making us want to go home," Naoki pointed out.

"But not to kill each other!" Akira confidently said.

"I guess..." Yuzuru said.

"I doubt we'd kill other over a stupid video," Sora sighed.

"Yeah, yeah," Reina said, being bored.

"Reina! Lift your spirits!" Romeo nudged her elbow.

Ki was a bit distant from the others, drinking hot chocolate.

"...That's it? No useful information at all?" Vonda said.

Chiari shrugged her shoulders. "Guess so."

"Okay then. Meeting is over. We can all break for today," Sousuke said. Everyone got out of their seats and separated into different directions.

Chiari exited the cafeteria doors and decided to explore a little more. She turned her head towards the main doors and went to the pool to relax for a short time. Chiari went to the pool on the deck and dipped her feet into the nice water as the rushing waters of the waterslide broke the silence. _The weather is peaceful today..._ Chiari thought as there was no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining bright like a ball of light rays.

Chiari started to fade out of reality and began to have deep, abstract thoughts in her mind.

 _I bet Monokuma is up to something... I mean, why would he set up the motive so early?_ Chiari was in deep thought for a while, but what she didn't realize is that someone came to the pool too.

"Chiari! Earth to Chiari!" Naoki waved his hand in front of Chiari's face.

"Whaaa? How long was I dazing for!?" Chiari snapped back to reality.

Naoki smirked. "For an hour! I've been looking for you!"

"Aww, come on! Why do I fall asleep at the worst times!" Chiari whined.

Naoki helped Chiari up. He stared at the pool and stuck his hand in the pool water. "The water feels nice! No wonder you stayed here!"

Chiari thought as she tilted her head. But then...

"I know what we should do to lift everyone's spirits!" Chiari literally had a lightbulb over her head.

Naoki looked at Chiari confusedly. "Like what?"

Chiari picked up a beachball from the pool. "We should..."

* * *

"Why did you make us meet here Chiari?" Sora asked.

Chiari asked everyone to meet in the cafeteria before lunchtime. Some people were annoyed with constantly meeting at the same place, while some were very excited about what's going to happen.

Chiari confidently smiled. "Well... Me and Naoki decided..."

"T-To what?" Mami replied.

Chiari placed her hands onto her hips. "We decided to have a pool party! To lift everyone's spirits!"

Everyone looked at Chiari with blank stares.

* * *

 **I. Hate. School.**

 **I'm terribly sorry for not updating for a while. I was bombarded test and quizzes. Who gives multiple tests on the same day!? That's stress inducing!**

 **Anyway... I would love to see who you think got affected by the motive the most, and who you'd think is the killer. Bai!**


	9. Chapter 1-4: Motive Part 2?

"...Why?" Romeo asked.

Chiari beamed. "Because! The video's got everyone down in the dumps, so a party should lighten the mood!"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a person decided to stand up to break the silence.

Mami clutched her IV and looked at Chiari. "I-I think it's a-a great idea! ...What's a pool party?"

"It's basically a party... With a pool," Yuzuru sighed. "You socialize, swim in water, and have fun."

Mami's eyes widened, gathering in this new information. "Oh! I-I see!"

Yuzuru looked away. "T-Though I don't really like the socializing part..."

Chiari pouted. "Aww, come on guys! We need to prepare! One group will get the party supplies and decorations, and another group will prepare the food!"

Ki sighed. "...Okay..."

Reiko crossed his arms. "But do any of us know how to cook?"

Chiari giggled. "Don't worry! I know a bit of cooking! Like instant ramen, and canned soup... Yeah, that won't actually help us will it?"

"Canned soup and ramen... Perfect for a party!" Romeo said sarcastically.

"You got a point there!" Akira laughed.

"So... Let's get ready!" Chiari raised her fist in the air in excitement.

* * *

"So... What should we make?" Chiari put on an apron and walked into the kitchen with a few excited and bored friends.

"I can prepare the drinks," Shinobu walked towards the cabinets with a pack of lemon iced tea mix. " _-Sigh-_ Too bad we have to drink this artificial substance."

"I can prepare the meat for the party dinner," Sora sighed and placed the wooden cutting board onto the island counter.

Romeo awkwardly smiled and shrugged his shoulders nervously. "Uhh... Ramen anyone?"

Chiari laughed. "Guess the ramen is a good idea after all! Okay then." She pointed at the pantry. "The instant ramen is on the fourth shelf. Imma make some pumpkin muffins!"

Reiko looked at Chiari. "Why muffins?"

"Because, my mom used to make them after I come home from school! I think I have the recipe written down in my memory..." Chiari scratched her head, trying to remember.

"Oh, okay! Just make sure you don't burn the kitchen down!" Reiko's laugh boomed across the room. "I'll help Romeo with the ramen! I'll make sure he won't mess up and flood the place!"

Romeo glared at Reiko. "Hey! Let's see you make it from scratch!"

Reiko laughed and clutched her stomach. "Alright, alright!"

Reina muttered angry words under her breath and decided to just go to see what the others are doing. Chiari gathered the flour and sugar and mixed the dry ingredients together in a glass bowl. Reiko opened the packs of instant ramen while Romeo filled the pot with water and heated up the stove. Sora was trimming the fat off the pork and seasoned the outside of the meat, not that she knew what she was doing. Shinobu was filling a glass pitcher with water and mixed the tea mix into the water.

"Hey, could someone check on the others?" Chiari started to clumsily crack the eggs.

Reiko jumped from Chiari's sudden statement and the hot water accidentally burned the top of her left hand. "Ow! Chiariii!"

"Oops! My bad!" Chiari chuckled.

Reiko ran cold water under her burning hand. "Well, Reina went to them a while ago."

"Well, you're almost done with the batter and about to put the muffins in the oven. So you should check on them!" Romeo smiled.

Chiari slouched and groaned. "Fine!"

"Wait! You're having a party?" Monokuma had an evil look on his face.

"Gah! Shit, Mono... whatever! Don't scare us!" Reiko jumped and barely missed the splattering boiling water this time.

"Geez, looks like I have no choice! I'll push you guys to the end!" Monokuma disappeared in a second. About a minute passed, and the monitors turned on.

 _"Everyone! Please meet in front of the A/V room, and don't be late!"_

 _"Monokuma! What are you plotting?"_

 _"Shut up, Monomi!"_

Then the screen turned black again.

"But... But..." Romeo was just staring to open the spicy ramen pack.

"Just put it on low heat for now," Shinobu said as she walked out of the kitchen.

Chiari and the others stopped what they were doing to gather at the front doors of the A/V room... Again...

* * *

"Why are we doing this again? We've already been traumatized enough," Ichirou said.

"Maybe Monokuma really, REALLY wants us to kill each other..." Sousuke pointed out.

"Hmm, you have got a point there. What else would Monokuma freaking want?" Shinobu sighed.

"..." Vonda and Erik stayed silent while Mami was quietly shivering and Yuzuru cautiously attempted to calm her down.

Ki made the first move. "Monokuma, come out."

"Monokuma appears!"

"Gah!" Chiari flinched and fell over.

"Hahaha! I can't see, but from the loud scream and the thump, Chiari is the clumsy champion!" Akira chuckled.

"Oww! I think I broke my ass! And where have you been Akira!?" Chiari rubbed her injury and clumsily stood back up.

"Things..." Akira began to snort and giggle.

"Do you have any decency?" Shinobu rolled her eyes.

"You don't have any sense of humor..." Sora groaned.

Monokuma's face began to turn into an unnatural shade of red. "GUYS! I'M RIGHT HERE!"

Romeo smirked. "Do you think we care?"

"OF COURSE YOU DO!" Steam came out of Monokuma's ears.

Naoki placed his hands on his hips. "What do you want anyway?"

Monokuma's color went back to normal. "So! I see that you've gotten over the last motive pretty quickly! Time for that to change!" Monokuma snapped his fingers. Well... Not exactly fingers... Nevermind.

"Waaahh!" "Help me!" "Whaaat!?" "SON OF A-,"

Out of nowhere, a big Monokuma forcefully shoved everyone into the A/V room, making them collapse into a big pile. The doors swung shut and locked.

"Oww! First my butt, now my limbs!" Chiari was one of the few people who rolled out of the pile of students, but that might have turned into a concussion.

Luckily for Mami and Akira, they safely landed on top of the other students.

"Wow! That was, a t-thrill ride! T-That's what it's c-called, isn't it?" Mami asked.

"I guess!" Akira smiled.

"H-Help mee..." Yuzuru weakly crawled out of the bottom of the hill of friends.

Ki dusted off her clothes and calmly sat in a red leather seat. The rest were nervously anticipating on what Monokuma has to show.

"Just do it already! We have a party to start!" Erik cheerfully said.

"I bet we're not going to be willing to have a party after this..." Naoki said in caution.

"I hate to say this... But I agree..." Sora angrily stared at Naoki. "I believe we should not listen to Monokuma's lies and endure what he's got for us. Unlike all of you, I am trained to withstand tragic events."

Chiari grinned playfully. "Enough of the worry talk bull crap, let's endure this together!"

Sousuke made a small grin. "Heh, you'll never change, Chiari."

The screen lit up and took a few seconds to show a video... of...

 _"Help me!"_

"W-Wha... Wha!?" Chiari had to process what she saw. "Eiji!? Where!? What!?"

 _"Why are we here!?"_

"M.. M-m-mom..." Sora stammered.

 _"Someone! Anyone!"_

"D-Dad?" Vonda and Erik said together.

 _"I don't believe this!"_

"Nonono! Fuck!" Ichirou started shivering,

"What is happening!?" Reiko yelled.

"Why!?" Shinobu and Reina froze in shock while Romeo looked paralyzed in fear.

"No... No..." Ayano's hands shook, almost dropping her game console.

"Ahhh!" Mami screamed. "No! I-I-,"

Loved ones and family members were tied up inside a stone-like prison, their faces look terrified and scared. Blood was spattered on the walls, and metal bars locked them up so they couldn't escape. Suddenly... A shadow appeared on the screen, and it seemed like it was holding a dull knife. Everyone began to squirm and shiver in terror, and in pure despair.

 _"No! Don't!"_

 _"What! No! No!"_

 _"Why!?"_

The shadowy figure came closer... closer...

 _-Click!-_

"What!? Why did the screen turn off!?" Chiari's eyes widen in fear and anger.

"Upupu! Why should I show you more? You have to kill someone to find out!" Monokuma grinned evilly. "Didn't you forget?"

Everyone started to panic and crowd against the door to break it down. Screams and shouts rang in Chiari's ears, and she began to breathe heavily in anxiety and trauma. Eventually, Shinobu yelled at the top of her lungs...

"Everyone! C-Calm down! Screaming and going insane is not the mature thing to do at this moment!" Shinobu's voice hollered and everyone turned their faces back to her.

"Honestly you guys! You look like a pack of wild animals!" Shinobu sighed. "Also, the key is right here..."

Shinobu unlocked the doors and everyone silently walked back to planning the pool party with pale looks on their faces. Chiari decided to keep a level head and continued to go to the kitchen and check on the muffins along with the others.

"No! Oh god, the muffins!" Chiari ran to the oven in panic, and opened the oven. She quickly acted before thinking and touched the muffin pan.

"Crap! Son of a-!" Chiari immediately pulled her right hand away and quickly splashed cool water to stop the burning.

"Guess we're both rookies at cooking huh?" Reiko weakly chuckled and brought cloth bandages for the both of them. Reiko tended to Chiari's burn by wrapping gauze around her hand, and did the same for her burn from the hot water from before.

"Oh, I didn't know you were the ultimate doctor!" Chiari giggled.

Reiko smiled. "Well, yokai hunting has to involve injuries! But I can only treat small injuries. Heh, heh!"

"Y-You two got over it pretty quickly..." Romeo stammered, trying to smile.

"Well, it's the only way we can survive this..." Chiari nervously grinned. _But I'm broken on the inside..._

"K-Keeping a level head will k-keep you from going insane," Shinobu crossed her arms.

"W-Whatever. I-I won't kill for just a v-video!" Reina leaned against the wall and started to shake vigorously. Tears were forming in her eyes, but attempted to wipe them away to avoid embarrassment.

"C-Calm down Reina!" Chiari stood up and walked up to Reina. "Please! I-I bet everything is going to be alright!"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Reina sprinted out of the cafeteria with a face full of tears.

"R-Reina!" Romeo ran after her.

"I-Is everything going to be alright?" Reiko turned to both Chiari and Shinobu.

"Everything is gonna to be alright!" Chiari faked a smile. _Eiji... I'll save you..._

* * *

The trio went to the bedrooms to check on Reina. Romeo was leaning on the wall next to the bedroom door, and he looked... pretty pale.

"Is everything okay with her?" Reiko said, wrapping her arm around Romeo's shoulders.

Romeo sighed. "It's okay. Reina's just a big crybaby. She just doesn't like people seeing her breaking down like right now."

 _"I... -sniff-, heard that!"_

"It must have affected her a lot, huh?" Chiari placed her hands in her sweatshirt pocket.

Romeo frowned. "Unfortunately, yes..."

"I bet everyone else feels the same way, even if I told them to calm down a billion times," Shinobu groaned.

"E-Excuse me!"

"Hmm?" Chiari turned around.

"The decorations are set... Is it still okay to do t-this?" Vonda said impatiently. "We've been waiting..."

Chiari beamed. "Yes! We need to get everyone out of the dumps and get pumped up!" _I'll never get 'pumped'..._

Romeo smiled along with her. "Yeah!" _Why us...?_

Reiko grinned widely. "Awesome!" _Someone might kill at this point..._

Shinobu scoffed at their overly exaggerated happiness. _I need to calm down..._

Vonda looked suspiciously at the smiling group and gestured for them to get changed into their swimsuits.

"I'll stay with Reina until she's better from crying. You guys get ready and set the party dishes on the tables," Romeo said.

"I'll stay here too! ...For moral support," Reiko grinned and stood next to Romeo. They started to have small talk and laughed at jokes.

"Guess they'll get along well," Chiari giggled.

"I guess," Shinobu's lips curled up to form a tiny smile.

Shinobu and Chiari walked into the girls locker rooms. Every student was assigned a locker, and their names are labeled on each locker. Chiari used her dorm key to unlock her locker (You use your dorm key to unlock your locker). In the locker was a casual green and white swimsuit. But...

"I-Is that a bikini?" Mami peeked inside the locker room to find a green and white polka dotted bikini hidden in the corner of Chiari's locker.

Chiari glared at Mami. "...Nuuu."

Mami blushed. "B-But, you'd look good! You would be r-really beautiful!"

Chiari looked flustered. "...Okay... FINE. God..."

Mami weakly smiled. "G-Great!" And closed the door.

"I'll never understand our friendship," Chiari continued blushing and embarrassingly smiled.

After they got changed into swimsuits, aka bikinis (Why am I even doing this...), they walked to the opposite door, leading to the outside pool.

"Guys! You made it!" Naoki ran up to Chiari.

All of the guys were there besides Romeo. And Sora, Vonda, Mami, and Ki were either relaxing or eating food.

"You guys got over the video easily. Last thing that I remember is that you guys were running all over the room," Shinobu said.

"Yeah, well we have to keep a positive attitude!" Akira smirked. "Besides, you're voice sounded panicked too!"

Chiari awkwardly laughed. "Well, let's let everything slide and have fun!"

What Chiari didn't realized is that some people didn't get over the video as easily as others, and were plotting a way out of here. Even she wanted to go home very badly, and tried to hide her true feelings inside.

"Hey guys!" Reiko rushed over in a black swimsuit and her glasses were off. Romeo and Reina followed behind, wearing swim trunks and a sky blue striped bikini.

"H-Hi..." Reina looked away. Romeo sat next to her in a beach chair.

"Well... Shall we get started?" Sousuke asked.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Reiko sprinted to the pool and cannon-balled in. "SUNDAES!" _-Splash!-_

"H-Hey! That's cold!" Chiari brushed off the cold water. "Alright! WATER FIGHT!" Chiari dived in and splashed water on Reiko's face.

Everyone was having fun. Chiari and Reiko were continuing to have a water battle, Erik and Vonda were watching the scenery, Ki, Ayano, and Sora were a bit distant from the others but looked like they were enjoying themselves.

"OBJECTION!"

"Huh?" Sora and Ki backed away.

Ayano jumped, realized that she said that out loud and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Romeo and Reina were relaxing on the beach chairs, and Mami was trying all of the delicacies laying on the table.

"I-Is that the so c-called ramen I-I've heard o-of!?" Mami's voice filled with excitement.

Yuzuru nodded. "Y-Yeah. It's spicy though... You're trying it, aren't you?"

Mami beamed. "O-Of course!" She grabbed a pair of chopsticks and grabbed a bowl. Mami slurped the noodles with all the strength she had.

"H-H-Hot!"

"I told you," Yuzuru gave a slight chuckle. Strange how he's the least likely to laugh...

Sousuke and Ichirou were sitting on the edge of the pool, kicking the water. And with the help of Naoki, he and Akira slid down the waterslide with screams and shouts of joy, and Shinobu was drinking some iced tea, still wondering why they couldn't use real lemons. The sixteen students then ate dinner after hours had passed, while colorful lights lit up the night sky.

"This is awesome! Sora, I didn't know you could cook meat!" Reiko said while munching on a piece of pork roast.

Sora smiled formally. "Well, I am good with a knife."

"I have to admit it is good..." Ayano slowly ate bits of it one by one and played with the food with her fork in boredom.

"I'm still gonna say it, I won the fight! Ha! Take that, Chiari!" Reiko fumbled with her fork and chuckled.

"Screw you!" Chiari laughed. "I'll get revenge!"

"Putting that aside, it's almost ten. We should go to sleep soon," Erik pointed out.

Chiari nodded. "Yea, some people should clean up."

Naoki had a smug look on his face. "Well, you came up with this idea. You should clean!"

Reiko set down her cup of iced tea. "Romeo and Reina should as well!"

Reina glared at Reiko. "Grrr..."

"Okay! Don't fight! Let's just clean up, then sleep in our cribs. Okay?" Chiari said, clutching her towel wrapped around her.

Reiko and Reina sighed. "Fine..."

Everyone threw their paper plates into the trash can and started to chatter up a storm as they walked into their bedrooms.

"Shall we start?" Romeo smiled.

Chiari took down the colorful lights. "Heck yeah!"

The three started to take down the lights and decorations, and threw away the leftover garbage.

"I'm going to go take a shower before nighttime comes," Reina walked towards the locker rooms.

"Okay!" Chiari stacked up the bowls and table cloths.

Chiari and Romeo finished cleaning up for the next thirty minutes. Then...

 _"It's ten pm! GO TO SLEEP YOU MOTHERFU-"_

 _-Beep!-_

"Ha! Monokuma got cut off!" Chiari smirked as she packed the colorful lights into a plastic bin.

"Guess he didn't like that we were partying late!" Romeo giggled.

Chiari waved at Romeo. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Later!"

Romeo waved goodbye as he took the bowls to the kitchen. Chiari didn't bother to take a shower since nighttime started, and threw herself onto her bed and fell asleep immediately. A pleasant feeling was in the air as everyone's spirits were high. Well, not everyone.

* * *

"Oh my god... I feel like shit..." Chiari woke up sneezing and sniffing. "Note to self, don't swim at night... And take a warm shower before bed..." Chiari started to cough. She caught a cold from the pool party, and she needed chicken soup and meds, stat.

She got out of bed and looked at the time. 6:30 am. Thirty minutes before morning... _Better get some medicine and cough syrup._ _Don't know where to get those since the infirmary is closed._

Chiari threw a coughing fit as she unlocked her dorm and explored everywhere. Even the bath and sauna, which is an unreasonable place to look. Then she started to look in the convenience store, hoping there was at least cough drops there. _Nope, still nothing..._ she thought. Feeling disappointed, Chiari weakly slammed the doors shut and continued exploring. Last place she looked for medicine is the locker rooms. Yet another unreasonable place...

" _-Achoo!-_ Ugh... Please let there be something in the lockers!" She swiped her handbook on the scanner and turned the doorknob.

And opened...

The door...

The locker rooms were really dark without the lights on. But what catched her eye... was a body. Chiari snuck in a little closer, trying to identify the person. Chiari knew that the person was female, because of the body type. But her face was unclear, as her head was bending over and her hair covered her face. She then brushed the hair away, and...

"R-R-R..." Chiari's eyes widened. "REINA!"

Her body was laying on the locker benches, with a pair of scissors stabbed into her chest and colorful lights wrapped onto her hands and was hung on the lockers. Reina's eyes were shot wide open, as if she was in shock. Chiari started to cry and cough furiously, until... until... everything went black. _N-No... Why!? Why her!?_

 _"A body has been discovered!"_

* * *

 _"I never thought that she was the first to go. Who did this...?"_

 _"A-Ah! Chiari! Is s-she okay!?"_

 _"She'll be fine, we need to help her."_

 _"R-Right!"_

* * *

 **Muahaha! The first victim! I'm terribly sorry to OtherSenpai, who made a really good character. But hey! Romeo is still here! Post in the reviews who you think is the killer, although there isn't much clues. See ya! lucky-cure, I'm cracking up at your confidence as to who killed XD.**

 **Oh, and happy birthday, Akira Ishiikowa! It's September the 29th today. Make sure you guys wish him a happy birthday in the reviews as well!**


	10. Chapter 1-?: A Body is Discovered!

**This is not a main chapter since it's short. It's just what happens while Chiari passed out from the body discovery.**

 **Now other characters get to be the main protagonist for once! Yay!**

 **Oh! And happy belated birthday to me! And happy early birthday to Mami Akiyama! Just saying... Not that you guys care x3.**

* * *

 _"A body has been discovered! Please meet in the cafeteria immediately for details!"_

"At this hour?" Naoki ruffled his hair while sitting up from bed. "Wait, a body!?"

Naoki jumped out of bed and slammed the door open.

"BODY! BODY! GUYS!"

"Wha?" Sousuke rubbed his eyes and exited his room.

"Are all boys this obnoxious?" Sora stretched and shut her bedroom door.

"A corpse! Sousuke, Sora, someone murdered!" Naoki yelled.

"What!?" Sousuke said in shock. "I didn't know it would happen this early."

"C'mon! We have to go to the cafeteria, before we miss anything," Naoki waved for them to follow him.

"If you insist..." Sora groaned and reluctantly ran along.

Naoki, Sousuke, and Sora's footsteps echoed throughout the quiet lobby as they ran down the stairs and busted open the cafeteria doors. Everyone jumped and turned towards them in surprise.

"Geez! Not so loud!" Reiko flinched.

Naoki looked at the others around them. They all had worried expressions on their faces, and still in their pajamas.

"W-What did M-Monokuma meant by a b-body h-has been found?" Mami trembled.

"Doesn't matter. Who cares?" Ayano sighed.

"Ayano, that's very insensitive!" Akira pouted.

"...Sorry..." Ayano muttered under her breath.

"We all care! Shing!" Monokuma jumped out of the counter.

"Ah!" Yuzuru said. "Monokuma?"

"Yes! Aren't you glad to see me?" Monokuma gleamed.

"No! Not one bit!" Everyone shouted.

"Well!" Monokuma scoffed. "I guess I should explain what's happening! As you can see, one of you isn't here right now!"

"Yeah! Reina isn't here!" Romeo realized. "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"Upupu, and a body means corpse in this case! Am I right?" Monokuma smirked.

Romeo's eyes suddenly became wider, and he clutched his head. "No, Reina's... dead? D-Did you... k-kill? KILL!?" He rushed towards Monokuma in pure anger.

"No! Romeo!" Naoki grabbed Romeo's arm as hard as he could. "Calm down! Please, there's a chance she's not dead! This isn't like you!"

"I'm not the killer! It's one of you! Heck, maybe Romeo killed his own twin!" Monokuma said.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL MOTHERFUCKING KILL YOU! YOU WORTHLESS BITCH!" Romeo yelled at the top of his lungs and shoved Naoki onto a table, making the table fall along with him.

"N-Naoki! I-I think he's unconscious!" Mami yelped. "R-Romeo! T-That wasn't n-nice!"

Romeo took heavy breaths to calm down as Monokuma laughed, seeing him in pure despair. "Alright, alright. I'm calm." Romeo disguised his anger and sadness with a smile. "I-I'm going to find Reina."

Shinobu cupped her hands together. "Well, m-me and Vonda will help wake Naoki up,"

Vonda had a surprised look on her face. "Eeh!? W-Why me?"

"No reason," Shinobu shrugged her shoulders.

* * *

"Ugh... What happened?" Naoki moaned.

"Long story short, Romeo knocked you over on a table," Shinobu calmly answered. "He just has some anger issues to deal with."

"I'm tired of this! It's already been thirty minutes and I haven't explained the rules!" Monokuma fumed.

"What rules?" Erik asked. "The corpse or something? Why would there be rules for a dead body?"

Sora glared. "For an investigation and judgement to who's the killer of course."

"Woah! Sora! Don't be so salty first thing in the morning! Well, the sun hasn't risen yet," Akira joked. "But don't assume that! I can't see the sun because I'm blind!"

"Yes, the sun still isn't up yet, Akira," Ki sighed. "And I don't think blind jokes are good at this moment."

Ichirou scowled at everyone. "Will everyone be quiet? Monokuma is explaining."

Monokuma cleared his throat. "As I was saying, a body was found by Chiari! Your fellow friend!"

"Wait, Chi?" Naoki asked, rubbing his head. "You don't think she... you know..."

"Absolutely not!" Sora growled. "Chiari would never do that!"

"I know that!" Naoki retorted back. "I mean, where is she now?"

Yuzuru stood up from his seat. "Me and Mami will look for her."

Mami jumped in surprise and blushed. "U-Uh, okay!"

They rushed out of the cafeteria and looked for Chiari.

"For a short period of time, you will investigate to see who's the killer! Then we will host a trial!" Monokuma announced.

"Ah, I see! A trial! Now time for some justice!" Naoki said.

"S-So... Reina's really dead huh? Romeo won't like that," Vonda said.

"In the trial, you guys will try to find out who is the blackened. If you manage to find out who's the culprit, then only the killer will receive punishment! But if you can't, everyone but the killer will be punished! And the blackened gets to escape!" Monokuma said.

"Nevermind then! Where's the justice in that!?" Naoki said.

"Yeah! Trials aren't supposed to be like that!" Sousuke crossed his arms. "And besides, it's your fault that someone killed with all these motives and incentives!"

"Those motives and incentives were very cruel. And you decide to punish them for being under your control," Sora said angrily.

"Bye bye!" Monokuma ignored the three's complaints and disappeared. But where's Monomi? Oh don't worry, she's beaten up... again.

* * *

"Are you sure this is where Chiari is?" Yuzuru asked Mami.

"I-I guess! This is the only place w-we haven't looked," Mami said.

Yuzuru told Mami to enter the locker room herself since he is not allowed to go inside. Mami swiped her e-Handbook and peeked inside the dark room.

"H-Hello? Hello- AH!" Mami screamed.

"W-What is it?" Yuzuru said worriedly.

"R-Reina! S-She's... And Chiari!" Mami cried and sobbed, and opened the door for Yuzuru to see.

Reina was stabbed in the chest with scissors, and Chiari was collapsed on the floor, right next to Reina.

Yuzuru looked surprised. "I never thought she was the first to go. Who did this...?"

Mami looked petrified. "A-Ah! Chiari! Is s-she okay!?"

"She'll be fine, we need to help her," Yuzuru said.

Mami nervously nodded, with a face full of tears. "R-Right!"

Mami weakly dragged Chiari out of the girl's locker rooms and Yuzuru picked her up as soon as Chiari was outside.

"Let's take her back to your room," Yuzuru said, and they walked upstairs to Mami's bedroom door. She inserted her handbook into the slot and the door unlocked. The duo placed Chiari onto Mami's bed, and Chiari winced as Yuzuru covered her with a blanket.

"S-She doesn't look s-so good," Mami hiccuped, trying to wipe away her tears with a tissue.

"Just give her some rest, we should get her some tea before she wakes up," Yuzuru said. "I'm going to do an autopsy on Reina after."

Mami fidgeted. "H-How are you s-so calm a-about this?"

Yuzuru sighed sadly. "Well, I've dealt with death before. I can deal with it now. Come on."

Mami frowned, knowing that Yuzuru looks like he's hiding something. "O-Okay..." And they quietly closed the door to let Chiari sleep.

It seems like Mami and Yuzuru got a little closer today.

* * *

"Well, fuck you too, Monokuma!" Naoki said.

"Well, what should we do now? Should we investigate?" Sousuke suggested.

Yuzuru and Mami then walked inside the cafeteria.

"Oh! You're back! Find Chiari?" Naoki asked.

"Yes, she was collapsed in front of Reina... who is dead," Yuzuru hesitantly announced.

"She was a fine individual. We'll never forget her," Sora said.

"How come you're so nice to girls and rude to guys!?" Naoki grumbled.

"N-Nevermind that, we're g-going to m-make tea for h-her." Mami said. "C-Could you guys start the investigation w-without us?"

Sousuke grinned. "You can count on us. We'll start with Vonda!"

"H-Huh?" Vonda said.

"Did you see or hear anything on the night of the murder?" Naoki asked. "Doesn't have to be much."

"Not really," Vonda bit her tongue. "The only thing I saw last night was someone in the storage room."

"What!? Then tell us!" Ichirou joined in the conversation.

Vonda hesitantly responded. "S-She or he seemed to be grabbing a knife from the kitchen tools box. I just wanted a snack from the convenience store, but I ended up seeing her or him instead," Vonda said softly. "That's all I can say. I don't exactly remember the time, but I think it was before twelve."

Naoki beamed and nodded. "That's all we need! Thanks!"

Vonda silently got up and awkwardly walked away.

"...So is that all we're going to do!?" Sora grunted.

Naoki shrugged. "We had to start somewhere. We can't rush on a very important thing that might potentially kill us."

Sousuke nodded. "You have a good point."

"But this case is impossible to point out the killer if we don't know the time of death, murder weapon, etcetera," Naoki said.

"Oh! I almost forgot about that!" Monokuma appears once again. "Go to your e-Handbooks and tap the autopsy reports app!"

"Monokuma, stop freaking appearing randomly!" Naoki yelled. "And why do you keep forgetting things!?"

"Let's just do what he says," Sousuke said. He turned on his handbook and tapped the file looking app. What popped up on the screen was a manila folder. Sousuke tapped the folder, and it opened to show a paper on the screen filled with Reina's information and stuff about the murder case.

Naoki thought about the information he was taking in, and snapped his fingers. "Yep, this is the thing we need!"

"Oh? Well I hope it is useful to you!" Monokuma laughed and walked outside.

"Sometimes, I wonder why Monokuma appears and disappears repeatedly," Ichirou sighs.

"Yeah. Seriously!" Akira said.

* * *

 **Sorry if it feels rushed. I haven't posted a chapter in a while and I wanted to treat you guys.**


	11. Chapter 1-5: Investigation Time

**Hello audience! Today is the investigation time. But here's the problem...**

 **I'm not good with making up cases and trials. And I wonder why I did this anyway.. So I need help. PM me tips on how to make a good trial for a murder case. This is optional though.**

 **And sorry if I'm not giving much love to some characters. Don't worry! They'll get their chance in the spotlight soon!**

 **I also have a Halloween special chapter coming up! Where you can pick your favorite ships in this SYOC to go on a Halloween date! Just something to get away from the blood and dark stuff, and if you don't like that kind of stuff, you can just skip it. Post in the reviews about which ships should date! There's not much ships to go on, but go wild! It can be girls together, boy and girl, or both boys, don't matter! The top three ships will be picked. Have fun!**

 **I've never seen anyone else do this, so I thought it would be cool!**

* * *

 _"What...? Where am I? Was that all a dream?_ Chiari's eyelids began to blink furiously as her pupils needed to adjust to the beaming light. She was in a cold sweat and her hair was a mess since it was not tied up.

"O-Oh! She's awake!" Mami cheered.

"Well, she was sick when she fell unconscious, so she'll need some time to recover," Yuzuru said. "Let's give her some space."

"Mmm... W-What happend?" Chiari weakly stammered as she slowly sat up from what looks like someone else's bed.

Yuzuru crossed his arms in concern. "We found you on the ground in the locker rooms."

Mami looked worriedly at Chiari. "T-This is my r-room. W-We were in a-a rush to help you, s-so I let you sleep i-in my room for the p-past couple of hours."

Chiari held her head in pain. "T-Thanks. But was... Reina..."

"She's dead. We saw that as well," Yuzuru said seriously.

Chiari felt lightheaded, as if she was going to faint again. She fell back onto the pillow and tears fell from her eyes.

"A-Ah! D-Don't cry! Please!" Mami whimpered and attempted to hug Chiari.

"N-No. _-Hic!-_ I-It's not true!" Chiari started to cough and sob loudly.

Yuzuru sighed sadly. "You have to face the truth."

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Naoki peeked in to see what was the ruckus.

"Is everything okay?" Naoki walked in with Reiko, who was behind him. Chiari lifted her head up and wiped her tears away.

"Y-Yeah... I'm f-fine," Chiari sniffled.

Yuzuru gave her a cup of tea. "It appears you have a slight fever now from when you previously went unconscious. You'll have to stay here and recover while we investigate the crime scene."

Chiari looked at the small mirror close to her. Her face and cheeks were red and she appeared to be a mess from the crying. She touched her head to check. _Yep... Had a fever, no doubt about it._

"B-But I want to help!" Chiari grabbed some tissues to blow her nose.

Reiko shook her head. "Noppity nope! You can't push yourself too hard! Well give you the details, don't worry!"

Naoki smiled confidently. "We'll bring the killer to justice!"

Chiari hesitantly nodded her head. "O-Okay. Good luck."

Everyone left the door, feeling ambitious. Mami closed the door behind her and locked the room.

* * *

Ten minutes passed...

Twenty minutes passed...

Twenty-five minutes passed...

 _I feel so useless..._ Chiari thought as she laid restless in Mami's bed. _I feel fine! Sort of._

"Y-You know what? I'm going to do my own investigation! Woah!" Chiari clumsily fell off the bed. "Ugh... Why does m-my body hate me?"

Chiari slowly got up and leaned against the wall as she opened the door. "I feel like d-death... Again."

She didn't even bother putting on her sweatshirt and kept her tank top on, since it was far away. Actually, it's only a foot in front of her. Chiari tiredly hung onto the railing as she walked down the stairs and into the locker rooms. She struggled to pull out her e-Handbook from her pocket and swiped it on the slot.

 **Investigation Time**

The door quietly creaked open and her footsteps echoed towards the corpse. It took all of Chiari's will not to throw up and faint again. Then her handbook suddenly buzzed and the 'Truth Bullets' application automatically opened, and it appeared to look like a camera app. _What? How is this related to bullets?_ Chiari thought as she looked at the camera. _Well, might as well put it to good use._

Chiari snapped a picture of the murder weapon stabbed into Reina's chest, for note-taking. A yellow bullet animation slid across the screen saying, 'Truth Bullet Acquired!'.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

Murder Weapon and Stab Wound.

* * *

 _Huh, so that's how it works. Maybe this app records evidence using photos._ Chiari looked at the corner of the screen and there was a microphone icon. "I-I guess this is used for recording accounts," Chiari thought out loud and looked at the stab wound closer.

 _Reina, who could have done this?_ A tear slid down Chiari's face as she examined the weapon. _The weapon is obviously scissors, but why is the stab wound bigger than the weapon itself?_ Chiari shrugged her shoulders in confusion and looked at her surroundings. She clutched her throbbing head. _Ugh. My brain hurts... Fevers aren't fun..._

Chiari wandered in the locker room, feeling dazed. A crumbling noise was heard under her foot and Chiari picked the crumbled object up. It appeared to be a piece of paper. The only thing that was on the paper were, _'12:00 am'_. Chiari took out her handbook again and snapped a picture of the paper and another truth bullet was acquired. Chiari started to have the chills, her body felt groggy, and her muscles felt a little sore. _A-Am I pushing my self too hard?_ Chiari thought.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

Ripped Piece of Paper That Says: '12:00 am'.

* * *

Chiari felt dizzy from her headache and accidentally bumped into the lockers. "O-Ow! Why am I so clumsy!?" she whined and crawled away. She looked behind her and in the corner of her eye, was blood.

"Wahh!" Chiari backed up towards the other wall of lockers. "W-What the hell?"

One particular locker had pink blood seeping through the locker door, and splattering the other lockers below it. It wasn't much though, but visible enough to be noticed easily.

"W-Wha? Why is that the only bloody locker?" Chiari asked herself.

Chiari shook her head to get rid of her dizziness and snapped a pic of it quickly to avoid throwing up.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

Bloody Locker

* * *

She looked around the room, and she concluded that there's nothing else to investigate. Light beamed through the door as Naoki, Sora, and Sousuke peeked through.

"Chi! What are you doing here!? You should be resting!" Naoki scolded Chiari.

Chiari nervously laughed. "Y-Yeah. But I want to help somehow. Besides, I've recovered a little!"

Sora violently nudged Naoki. "She's selfless, unlike you."

Naoki glared at Sora. "Hey! Since when!?"

"Calm down everyone. We need to find the culprit, that's all that matters," Sousuke mediated the argument.

They annoyingly sighed in sync and told Chiari what happened.

"The only thing we could find was a ripped piece of paper hidden slid into Ayano's locker. It was hanging out so we grabbed it." Sora took out a piece of paper that says, _'I have something important to talk about.'_

"Seems like Ayano's the likely suspect," Sousuke said.

"O-Oh! I have a piece too!" Chiari took out the paper from earlier. They stuck the pieces together like a puzzle.

"It seems like they fit," Sousuke realized.

"Yeah! But the top part is still missing!" Naoki pointed out.

Chiari immediately snapped a picture of the paper. A notification popped up on her e-Handbook, saying, 'Truth Bullet Updated!: I have something important, 12:00 am.'

"We should talk to the others for accounts and alibis," Naoki said seriously.

All nodded and exited the room, leaving Reina's corpse behind.

"Ouch. What the hell?"

"O-Oh! Sorry!" Chiari fell to the ground.

"Be careful next time," Ayano looked down at Chiari and walked away.

"Wait! We need to ask you a couple of questions!" Naoki said, running towards Ayano and carried the paper with him. "Do you know why this was in your locker?"

Ayano sighed, bored. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about. I don't recognize that note." She tilted her body to Chiari. "By the way, have you seen my scissors? They're really sharp. Don't ask why."

Chiari's eyes widened. She's seen those scissors, in a certain someone's chest, and has dried blood at the moment.

"Y-Y-Yes. You don't want to k-know where it is now," Chiari trembled in fear.

Naoki snatched Chiari's handbook and tapped on the microphone icon in the corner, the handbook started to record Ayano's speech.

"I went to bed as usual. I woke up in the middle of the night, around two in the morning. I realized that I forgot to lock my bedroom door and I looked in my drawer, and my scissors were not there. Now, can you give me my personal space?" Ayano rolled her eyes and walked to the the cafeteria. "Don't push yourself too hard..."

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

Ayano's Account

* * *

"Why did you take it away?" Chiari was too tired to be angry and grabbed her handbook.

"Sorry, just wanted to record something important," Naoki said. "By the way, are you feeling any better?"

Chiari smiled. "Besides the headaches, warm temperature, feeling groggy, and the fatigue, I feel a little better."

Sora calmly smiled. "You recover quickly. I see potential in you... Maybe."

Sousuke nodded in agreement and pointed to two girls in the cafeteria besides Ayano. Erik and Ki.

"O-Okay! Let's see what they have to say!" Chiari exhaustedly ran to Ki and burst open the door.

Ki jumped at the sudden burst of noise and turned to Chiari. "What do you need?" Ki asked.

Chiari did the same thing that Naoki did and pressed the microphone tab and recorded their conversation. "Did anything happen last night?"

Ki pondered for a moment. Then started to say something. "Nothing really. I was walking around the cruise, getting some fresh air. Then I heard muffled noises in the girl's locker rooms near the pool. I rushed towards the outside entrance of the locker rooms and tried to hear what they were talking about, but I couldn't figure out who were talking. All I know is that that there were two females. Which is obvious considering it took place in the girls locker room. It happened at around twelve." Ki turned back to eating her breakfast.

"Well, now we can confirm that the time of death was twelve am," Naoki assumed.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

Ki's Account

* * *

"It seems like almost everyone was involved in the case..." Sora pondered.

"Oh! I totally forgot about the Monokuma File!" Sousuke said.

"The where in the what now?" Chiari asked.

Naoki explained what they were. "They're basically autopsy reports for every murder that happens. We learned about these while you were unconscious."

Chiari tapped on the 'Autopsy Reports' application and and Reina's portrait popped up, with her information like her height and weight. The only thing that was different about Reina is that her portrait was crossed out with a big hot pink bloody 'X'. Below that, was the important stuff.

 _Reina Hoshi_

 _Time of death is around 12:00-1:00 am._

 _The body was found and killed in the girls locker room, on the benches._

 _Cause of death was stabbed in the chest, arms were hung with colorful lights from storage room._

 _There was a struggle during the murder. Reina's ankle was sprained._

"Well this was useless as shit," Chiari sighed. "The only new thing I learned is that Reina's ankle is apparently sprained and there was a struggle."

Naoki pouted. "Every new information is important!"

Chiari raised her hands and waved them furiously. "Okay, okay!"

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

Monokuma File #1

* * *

"Hmm, what's up?" Erik ran up to the group.

Chiari turned around and waved at Erik. "Hi! Perfect timing! Actually, do you know where the top half of this note is?" Chiari showed Erik the two pieces of paper.

Erik tapped his finger against his chin, thinking. "I actually did! Here!" He dug a piece out of his pocket.

 _'Hey, this is Chiari here.'_

Erik squinted at Chiari. "I have a feeling you did it. It's obvious!"

Chiari shivered. "B-B-Bu-But-,"

"Don't stress her!" Sora crossed her arms.

Naoki looked up. "Wait. Hold on. There is something wrong."

"What?" Erik asked.

"Well, I see smudges and eraser shavings over Chiari's name," Naoki pointed at the letters.

"So? She could've made a mistake," Erik said.

Naoki shrugged his shoulders. "We'll see."

Chiari held her head in pain and anxiety as she snapped a picture and put the top half in her pocket. Her e-Handbook suddenly buzzed. 'Truth Bullet Updated!'.

"So Ayano and Chiari are the likely suspects right now. Not that you two are the killer right at this moment," Sousuke said.

Chiari's face became pale and felt dizzy. "I-I need to sit down."

Sora frowned. "Alright. You were the first to find the body, so it's understandable that you have post trauma from that."

Naoki sat next to her. "You've not been yourself lately. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Just taking this all in!" Chiari faked a laugh.

Erik, Sora, and Sousuke had sorry looks on their faces, and didn't say a word.

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright," Naoki grinned.

"O-Okay. Let's just continue," Chiari rushed out of the cafeteria.

 **Investigation Time: On Break**

* * *

 _Reina. No, no, no, this can't be happening. No, it's all a dream. Calm down, Romeo and put a smile on your face! Everything is all right!_ Romeo's eyes were full of tears that were just ready to fall, but he tried his hardest to restrain from crying and sat on the benches in the boys locker room.

 _"Knock knock!"_

"Eh? Who's there?" Romeo flinched at the sudden outburst.

 _"The door! Heh heh!"_

The door beeped and the doorknob clicked open. Two males peeked through the door.

"Hello, Romeo! ...I'm sorry about Juliet," Akira said as he walked over to Romeo.

"It's okay! Really!" Romeo said and wiped his tears away.

"It doesn't look like it," Ichirou followed Akira.

Romeo forced a smile. "I'm positive! Please don't worry! Besides, I have to be positive!"

Akira frowned and warmly smiled. "It's okay. We're bros now. You can show your true feelings."

Ichirou looked away. "Y-Yeah, sure."

Romeo's eyes watered. "B-But I-I c-c-ca-,"

"It's alright! We'll avenge her!" Akira beamed.

Romeo's tears fell down his face as he covered his face. Akira smiled and patted his back to calm him down.

"R-Reina! W-Why did you have to go!?" Romeo sobbed.

Ichirou's expression saddened and he looked down, and tried not to get emotional himself.

"Shh, it's alright. Cry to your heart's content," Akira said.

Romeo kept sobbing and sniffling for a while, feeling upset about Reina's death. Soon he started to calm down and was able to speak. Romeo sniffed as he wiped away his tears.

"You feel better?" Akira asked.

Romeo weakly smiled and nodded. "Yeah. It feels good to let it out. Thanks."

Akira made a thumbs up. "Good! I'm glad!"

Ichirou patted Akira's shoulder. "We should leave him alone."

Akira agreed and left the locker rooms, and nothing but silence filled the room.

 _Reina, I'll avenge you!_ Romeo thought as he followed Akira and Ichirou soon after.

It seems like they got closer today.

* * *

"Chiari! Wait up!" Naoki said, rushing after her. "Where are you going!?"

Chiari suddenly tripped and collapsed on the floor. "Oof!"

"What were you thinking!?" Sousuke said.

"I-I'm sorry! My feet moved on their own! Why? Why am I framed for murder!?" Chiari clutched her hair in anger.

"It's not your fault! Get a hold of yourself!" Erik said.

 _"Chiari! Get up and fix yourself!"_

"Shinobu?" Sora said as she held her hand out to Chiari.

Shinobu walked up to them, as well as Vonda, but she stayed silent. "Yes. I heard the news of Reina. Who would kill her? Sure she was cold, but not rude."

Naoki nodded. "Yeah. In fact, Reina was affected by the motive the most."

"So she committed suicide?" Erik asked.

"I doubt it," Shinobu said. "By the way, I did my own investigation."

Chiari stood up. "W-What?"

"I didn't mean to ruin the crime scene, but I accidentally shoved the body." Shinobu gracefully brushed her hair away. "There was a bloody message behind her."

Naoki's eyes widened. "Tell us!"

Shinobu pulled out her e-Handbook and presented a picture of the bloody pink dying message. It was upside down, but they managed to decipher a bit of the letters. o, i, t, and r. The other letters were faded or wiped away.

"W-What do those letters mean?" Chiari asked, calmed down from her breakdown.

"Hmm..." Naoki began to ponder.

"What is it?" Sousuke asked.

Naoki shook his head. "Nothing. Let's keep investigating."

Shinobu sent the picture to Chiari via message and Chiari screenshot the picture of the bloody letters.

* * *

 **Truth Bullet Acquired!**

 _Dying Message_

* * *

"We're close to figuring out the case," Naoki said.

"Yeah. I guess. I still don't know who to accuse," Vonda muttered.

"We can't accuse anyone yet," Sora said.

Chiari trembled. "What if I-I sleepwalked and killed her in her sleep!? I-I never sleep walk but it's possible!"

"Hey! Don't go insane!" Erik smacked Chiari in the head.

"O-Oww! Why on the head!?" Chiari rubbed her injury.

"Please, Chi. Your not the killer. We believe you and will support your claims," Naoki sighed. "Besides, your not the only one accused here. Ayano is on thin ice as well."

"I also believe Ayano isn't the killer either. She was confused when she talked to us," Sousuke pointed out.

 _-Crackle-_

 _"Hello ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the claaassss trial! Please meet at the red doors immediately!"_

"N-No! But we're not done!" Chiari screamed.

"It's too late now," Vonda said.

The group walked towards the big red doors and worked together to pull it open. Inside was a big white room, with the others either panicking, bored, or irritated.

"C-Chiari! I'm glad y-you're feeling better!" Mami nervously smiled.

"Yeah! Finally, I'm glad we'll get to find out who the killer is!" Reiko crossed her arms and groaned.

"..." Romeo stayed silent, looking more of a mess than before, and started to shiver.

Ayano looked a little nervous, which wasn't like her. "I don't give two shits as to who's the killer,"

"Ayano, not now," Akira said.

"GUYS! GET IN THE ELEVATOR!" Monokuma pointed at the metal gate leading to an elevator.

"Fine your royal highness," Shinobu said and pressed the button to open the metal gate.

"Honestly, Monokuma. Please don't say every sentence like you're going to explode," Ichirou advised. Yuzuru nodded in agreement.

Everyone eventually got in the elevator. The metal gates folded closed and it started to go down. _This is it. The class trial,_ Chiari thought as she leaned against the elevator wall. _Who's the killer? Is it me? Is it one of my friends? Who do I trust!_ _?_ _Ugh, calm down Chiari. We'll be able to find the culprit no matter what!_

The gate folded open, and the students all entered the trial... room...

"Woah! This is awesome!" Reiko looked in awe.

The trial room appeared to be a clear dome surrounding the group, underwater. They could see all of the fishes and sea creatures in the blue ocean around them. The floor was covered in scarlet colored carpet with black and white tiles under.

"S-Sea creatures? I'm d-discovering so much t-today!" Mami said in excitement.

"Yeah, yeah! stand in your assigned stands with your name on it!" Monokuma said impatiently as he sat on his golden throne.

What made everyone freeze was a pole with a portrait of Reina with her face covered in a bloody cross, located behind the stand with her name on it.

"No... No..." Romeo struggled to keep a smile, and his mouth twitched to a frown. "Monokuma, y-you b-bastard..."

"Despair inducing isn't it!" Monokuma chuckled. "And it would be rude to leave your sister out! Wouldn't it?"

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Romeo lunged at the bear, but Ichirou held him back.

"No! Violence against that bear is against the rules!" Ichirou said, struggling to keep Romeo back.

"Let me go! Let me at that little care bear reject!" Romeo thrashed and struggled.

Everyone attempted to calm Romeo down, and walked to their own place.

"So what now?" Ki asked.

"Ahem, anyway! I have a little surprise for you all!" Monokuma pulled out a remote with a big blue button and pressed it. The ocean and the fishes colors suddenly became inverted, and... words?

"Woah! Why are words flying everywhere? Why does the ocean colors look weird!?" Naoki asked in shock.

"Well duh! Virtual reality!" Monokuma laughed. "Without having to use game consoles and putting weird goggle things on your eyes! This dome is specifically designed yeah to protect you from drowning, but it's mainly to project anything you say!"

"B-But that doesn't make any sense! Why do we even need our words flying across the room!?" Chiari said.

Monokuma crossed his arms and giggled. "You'll see! Now, let the trail begin!"

* * *

 **Now everyone! I know there is only seven truth bullets to go off of, but more things will be added once the class trial starts.**

 **I'm also currently rewriting the prologue and introductions as well, just saying. Sorry for the constant author's notes. xP**


	12. Late Halloween Special: Shipping Dating!

**This is a special, where there's no despair, no Monokuma. When they have a normal school life at Hope's Peak, only it's Halloween. Like an Au. A non-despair Au. Just... Just enjoy, I'm tired. Imma sleep after this XD. I'm also sorry if there are some spelling and grammar issues.**

 **The top three ships are...**

 **Naoki x Chiari (7)**

 **Chiari x Mami (5)**

 **Akira x Romeo (3)**

 **Mami x Yuzuru and Akira x Romeo tied at three votes, but I used a randomizer for that.**

 **I'm surprised that Akira x Romeo got popular so fast after one chapter! And here we go!**

* * *

"Man! Class is finally over!" Romeo sighed in relief and swung his bag behind his shoulder. The trees surrounding Hope's Peak began to turn scarlet, pumpkin orange, and yellow. The grass began to wilt, and short bursts of wind made the sixteen students shiver slightly.

"Don't get too excited, Romeo. Exams are coming up. Sighhh..." Chiari adjusted her hoodie. Everyone still doesn't know how she got that to fit under her blazer.

"Did you really just say the word sigh?" Ayano tilted her body towards Chiari, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah! Ya got a problemo Aya-P?" Chiari joked.

"Hah! She showed you!" Akira cracked up.

"U-Um. Anyway, i-it's October the 31st. P-People keep t-talking about this 'Halloween'," Mami pointed out. "I-I haven't done it i-in a w-while. W-What d-do we d-do today then?"

Yuzuru walked beside her. "Some people go trick or treating, but we're too old for that."

Erik thought about it. "And staying inside our dorms will make us look like shut-in's."

"Then let's have a Halloween date!" Reiko suddenly suggested.

Everyone stared at Reiko. "WHAT!?"

"Why that!?" Reina said with her face all flustered. Shinobu scoffed and tried to hide her blush.

"Are you serious?" Shinobu said.

"Reiko... That's BRILLIANT!" Chiari squealed. "And I know the perfect place!"

Ki adjusted her bow on her uniform. "And where exactly? I haven't seen anywhere nearby for a 'Halloween date'."

Chiari winked. "There's this street where there's tons of street food, karaoke places, and manga cafes! We should go this Halloween!"

"I heard that the people have decorated that street with Halloween lanterns!" Reiko said. "Let's go!"

"H-Hey! Wait!" Vonda and the others were dragged away, while Naoki and Sousuke shrugged their shoulders and reluctantly followed.

* * *

 **Part One: Naoki x Chiari**

"Weeeee're here~!" Reiko and Chiari chanted.

"Stop dragging me!" Vonda thrashed around and Reiko let go of Vonda's arm. "Oww!"

"Well, what now?" Naoki surveyed the surroundings around him. Lots of people were crowding the building, buying everything they can because of the Halloween sales.

Reiko smirked. "Uhhh, oh no! we forgot our money! Chiari and Naoki should wait here while we all go back to Hope's Peak!" Reiko giggled and shoved everyone away.

"Why!?" Vonda cried as her uniform was grabbed tightly and was dragged on the ground.

"W-Wait, Rei! I thought we were together on this!" Chiari yelled. Before she could finish that sentence, they disappeared. "S-So, w-what do y-you w-w-w-w-."

"Chiari, what are you stuttering for?" Naoki stared at her, being clueless. "Please stop, you're making me nervous as well."

Chiari jumped and hid the redness on her face. "O-Okay... Why don't we buy some food before they come back."

Naoki nodded confusedly and went over to the street food stand. Naoki and Chiari placed their orders grabbed some paper bowls full of steaming hot takoyaki and put the food on a nearby table.

"Oh my god this is amazing! Food and fall mix amazingly!" Chiari beamed and rabidly stabbed the food with her toothpick and ate them.

"Seems like you're yourself again," Naoki giggled as he dropped his bag on the table.

Chiari smiled. "Yeah! I don't know what I was so worried about!"

Naoki rested his head on his arm. "So, we haven't got to hang out alone for quite some time."

Chiari sighed. "Yeah... I can't imagine that being roped into this mess was the time we're meeting up again." She grabbed a napkin. "By the way, how's life?"

"Meh, cases and more cases. Most of them are pretty boring," Naoki admitted. "But if it means bringing a criminal to justice, then I'll do it."

"Heheh! You sound like Sparkling Justice!" Chiari laughed.

Naoki realized and face palmed himself. "Oh god. I can't believe I didn't realize that." He chuckled. "The next thing we need is an emoji!"

"Yeah! xD," Chiari laughed so hard and clutched her stomach. Naoki also cracked up in a burst of laughter, and wiped his tears away.

"Oh... Oh gosh, I think I'm going to throw up rainbows!" Chiari pounded the table and attempted to stop giggling.

The duo slowly calmed down, glanced at each other and blushed, turning away.

"You know, Halloween really brought us closer together, huh?" Chiari said, looking down at her cupped hands. "W-Well, as friends! As friends!"

"Y-Yeah!" Naoki fixed his hair in nervousness.

"We're back~!" Reiko chirped. "Ooohh! Is Naoki and Chiari having lovely conversation?"

Chiari's eyes widened in shock and covered her face in embarrassment. "Reiko! No!"

Reiko snorted and the group walked around the place. As they passed a karaoke place, Romeo abruptly stood in front of it.

"Oww! What's wrong?" Akira bumped into Romeo.

Romeo shook his head. "Nothing... Let's catch up with the others."

Akira pouted. "Oh, come on! I know you sound sad!"

"Oh, a karaoke place? I think that place opened recently," Sora said. "I think they're having a Halloween sale. Well, every building is."

"Does everyone want to go?" Sousuke asked. Everyone nodded in sync.

"Alright! Let's go!" Akira and Erik rushed in. Romeo hesitated and ran in along with them.

The students went to the reservation counter and reserved a room. Apparently, each room could only hold fourteen people at max. So Chiari suggested that they would reserve two rooms, one with fourteen people, and one with two people. Which isn't really a good method of dividing, but it works. Akira and Romeo agreed to have the other room, paid for it, and headed towards the karaoke room to the left of them.

The karaoke room had a fancy looking disco ball along with a violet lit glass table in the middle, with an aquarium on the wall. The wooden floor was a bit of a dark brown. The light from the disco ball makes the room look colorful and a bit dark. Halloween lights were hung on the ceiling, and lit up jack o lanterns were place in the corners of the room. Somehow, paying tons of money for the room, felt like it was worth it.

* * *

 **Part Two: Akira x Romeo**

"Wow! Look at this room! ...I can't see it!" Akira said and beamed.

"U-Uh, yeah!" Romeo said as he sat down on the white couches.

Akira managed to find the remote and fiddle with the buttons. "Do you want to sing a Halloween song?"

Romeo shrugged his shoulders. "N-No thanks."

"Aww, come on, Romeo-CHAN!" Akira teased. "You're the ultimate singer! Don't you like to sing?"

Romeo sighed gloomily and laid back on the couch. "Nah, I grew tired of it." A female staff member came into the room, asking if they needed anything. Romeo looked at the karaoke menu and asked for some hamburgers and iced tea, and the woman nodded and shut the door.

"But then why come to Hope's Peak if you're not interested in singing?" Akira asked, dropping the remote a couple of times.

Romeo looked down at his knees. "Well, being famous is hard work. My nagging manager, the constant concerts, and most of all, the crazy amount of work. I just... lost my love of singing I guess." He stood up and walked up to Akira. "But I can't disappoint my fans. And once Hope's Peak accepted me, I hoped that my love of singing would return."

"Oh... Okay! Well, let's revive your love of singing! Shall we?" Akira handed Romeo the microphone.

Romeo smiled and laughed warmly. "We shall." He hesitantly grabbed the microphone and helped Akira play the songs.

Akira felt like Romeo had true fun, as he heard Romeo's sweet voice when he sang the classic old Halloween songs, with Akira as the background vocals and chorus. They laughed together when they messed up on the lyrics, and celebrated with burgers when they successfully completed a song with a high score.

"Hah! Akira, you really are an awesome singer!" Romeo said.

Akira scratched his head and smiled. "Thanks! I tried to memorize the lyrics since I can't see the screen, but I think I did decent enough!"

"Nonsense! I think we harmonized well!" Romeo hopped on the table to sit down. He grinned and looked up to Akira. "Thanks. I had fun! I haven't had this much fun since when I was young." Romeo ate his last pieces of leftover tomato.

"Me neither!" Akira giggled. "Unless insults and being blind is fun! O-Oh! Wait, I mean... Uh, nevermind!"

Romeo looked suspiciously at him. "Uh... okay? Anyways, you're a good pal. Thanks!" He gave Akira a warm bro hug to thank him. Akira's cheeks flushed at the sudden physical contact, but he wrapped his arms around him eventually. They let go and had an awkward moment, staring at each other silently.

"So... we should leave," Akira nervously laughed. Romeo nodded and paid the tip.

Before they could exit the room, Erik burst through the door. "Hey guys! We've been waiting forever! Vonda's getting impatient." He moved out of the way to see Vonda counting on her fingers to pass time.

Mami forged herself through the crowd and fidgeted in place. "U-Um, can we p-please get o-out of here? It's g-getting pretty crowded in h-here."

Chiari also pushed through the crowd and fell onto the wall. "Oww! Yeah, people are freaking storming through this place!"

Romeo and Akira nodded together and rushed out of the karaoke place along with the others. "Excuse me!" "Pardon me!" "OH GOD!"

"That was madness!" Reiko huffed. "Like, I get it was Halloween, but come on!"

"Can't people go in single file!?" Reina yelled at the people, who glared at her back as they entered. Shinobu smirked at the scene.

Ayano was vigorously pressing the buttons on her game console and puffed her cheeks in frustration. "Ugh. My game shut down and broke. I'm going to the game store to have it repaired." She walked away from the rest of the group. Ichirou and Reiko agreed to accompany her.

"We'll make sure she doesn't run into the road," Ichirou called out to the group. Then... a dog happened. A big, growling dog stared down at Ichirou with its beady eyes.

"D-D-DOG!" Naoki and Sora screamed and sprinted away as fast as they could. Ichirou looked dumbfounded at the duo and started to pet the dog.

Everyone's eyes widened and followed Naoki and Sora. "Wait! Where are you going!?"

Mami had no words to say while Chiari sputtered only gibberish.

"S-So... Everyone left us, huh?" Chiari managed to say. Mami's legs shook while clutching her IV. "U-Uh, hey! Look! A manga store! You like manga, right?"

Mami suddenly turned her head at the store across the street, seeing selves full of freshly printed manga to dig her nose into. "P-Please, can we go?"

"Of course! I need to buy some too to finish this series I've been reading," Chiari said, and headed towards the glass doors.

* * *

 **Part Three: Chiari x Mami**

"W-Wow! So much! I-It's amazing!" Mami stammered from astonishment.

Chiari peeked from the other bookshelf. "Been a while since you've been to one of these, huh?"

Mami began to take books off the shelf, dropping some in the process. "T-There's been some recent n-novels I w-want to read. T-The romance in them i-is very good."

As Mami was wandering in the sea of her fantasies, Chiari glanced at one particular book that was different and isolated from the others, almost like it was under an illuminating spotlight, waiting for someone to take it. She casually strolled down the aisle until nobody saw her, and sprinted towards this special novel. Chiari attempted to analyze what the book was.

It appeared to be a limited edition fall romance novel that was the last rare copy, "So Lingers the Ocean". Apparently, on the paper displayed next to it, since the book was so popular almost all the books were sold out, and this was the last copy in the district.

Chiari's eyes sparkled with excitement. _Oh! Mami would love this!_ she thought and snatched the book and slammed it onto the counter.

"I would like to buy this!" Chiari said, digging into her pocket for some cash. "Oh, and can I have it gift wrapped?"

The cashier eagerly took the money and gave her spare change. The cashier wrapped the book carefully with a jack o lantern pattern. "Have a nice day miss!"

 _Poor cashier. I know she's only pretending to smile to earn money._ Chiari chuckled to herself and hid the neatly wrapped book behind her back.

"Hey, Mami! Are you done here?" Chiari asked.

Mami looked disappointed and limped her way to Chiari. "Y-Yes. I-I couldn't find a-any good ones. W-Well, let's meet u-up with the others."

They stepped out of the building, and the automated doors slid open. Chiari suddenly took out the book and presented it in front of Mami, who has a surprised look on her face.

"Since you couldn't get anything, I got this for you! I don't know if you have this already, but here! Happy Halloween and belated birthday!" Chiari shoved the present into Mami's arms. Her arms were shaking as she ripped open the paper. As soon as she saw the cover, Mami's lips curled up very widely.

"I-Is this the p-popular novel!?" Mami gasped. "I-I could n-never get t-this!"

Chiari proudly said, "Yep! It's the last copy! I found it in the corner of the store. Hope you don't mind adding this to your collection."

Mami could only manage to say these few words. "I-I love it! I-I love you!" She held her IV from her hands and hugged Chiari with one arm.

"E-Ehh!?" Heat rushed into Chiari's cheeks and stood still, and couldn't move a muscle.

Mami raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? W-Why are you e-embarrassed, Chiari? I-I thought saying 'I-I love you' shows a-affection and f-friendship."

"Y-Yea, but not like that!" Chiari gently pushed Mami off of her.

"O-Okay. We should g-go now. I-It's getting l-late, and kids will b-be out soon to g-get candy." Mami said.

The two girls eventually met up with Sora and Naoki, who were gasping for breath from running away from a dog for twenty minutes. The rest of the group were even more out of breath chasing after them.

"What happened?" Chiari asked.

"Don't... ask..." Sousuke panted.

Mami giggled at the sight and Chiari beamed at Mami's warm laugh.

* * *

 **Le Time Skip to: 8:00 p.m.**

"Why!?" Chiari whined, wearing a very small pumpkin dress costume that barely fits her chest. The pumpkin top was used as a hat and she had orange slippers.

"Chi! You look hilarious!" Eiji laughed and clutched his stomach.

"Ugh! You can be so insensitive sometimes! Hmph!" Chiari stormed out of the house and slammed the door shut, knowing that Eiji will scream like a little girl at the sudden noise.

"You... look... n-nice, Chi!" Naoki tried to hold in his laughter.

Chiari angrily glared at Naoki. "Oh come on! You too!?"

Everyone had a costume on, since trick or treating was the only option on Halloween, and they had no other choice because literally everyone from Hope's Peak wanted to try this tradition. They awkwardly followed each other as a group, with their bags flowing in the wind. The students with hats on had to hold it down from blowing away.

"Well, today was a fun, short day wasn't it?" Reiko said, breaking the silence. She brushed the dust off her shrine maiden costume.

Yuzuru nodded. "I guess. We got to see Naoki and Sora running away in terror."

Sora avoided Yuzuru's glance. "Well, dogs are too alert. I can't stand them. I guess I overreacted a bit."

Shinobu scowled at Sora. "A little?"

Chiari rolled her eyes. "So, are we going to do this next year? The same thing?"

Erik nodded. "Sure! And who do we pair together?"

Everyone slowly turned their heads towards Mami and Yuzuru, who were conversing about bandages and wounds.

"Yeah... Definitely." Everyone whispered. The group of sixteen walked on the steps and knocked on the door.

 _"Trick or treat!"_

* * *

 **Yeah... Not my best chapter, but hey. Shipping. Can't get enough of it. Bye!**

 **(P.S: This chapter was supposed to be posted on Halloween, but due to so much schoolwork and other lame excuses, this was delayed because I needed a break. I hope you guys understand.)**


	13. Chapter 1-6: Trial Time! (Part One)

**Hello guys! Now it's the time for the trial! This is my first Danganronpa fanfic trial, so there might be a few holes due to my stupidity. Please, please PLEASE tell me if I left anything out or made a mistake. You guys are more better critics than me.**

 **Some things that the characters say here might be obvious, but this is only the first trial. So as Monokuma says, let the trial begin!**

* * *

 **Truth Bullets:**

 **Murder Weapon and Stab Wound**

 **Note From the Killer (12:00, Something Important..., This is Chiari Here...)**

 **Bloody Locker**

 **Ayano's Account**

 **Ki's Account**

 **Monokuma File #1**

 **Dying Message**

"Let's begin with the rules of the class trial!" Monokuma declared. "You guys will all debate who is the culprit based on what you found. At the end, you will vote on who is the killer! The votes will be based on majority. If you all vote the wrong person, then everyone but the killer will be executed, and the killer will be able to leave! But if you get it right, then only the killer will be executed and you'll be able to continue your life on the cruise!"

"We already know that last part. Why tell us again?" Shinobu asked.

"W-Well, Chiari wasn't here when Monokuma said that," Mami said, gazing at the ocean creatures.

Chiari giggled nervously and scratched her head. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that!"

Everyone turned their heads towards each other in awkward silence, not knowing where to start. Naoki dug his e-Handbook out of his pocket and presented the Monokuma File screen.

"This is the basic information of Reina Hoshi, along with the murder information," Naoki said in a serious tone. "And according to all this evidence, the killer probably was rushing when cleaning up the scene."

Sousuke nodded in agreement. "No doubt about that. They left clues everywhere, yet we can't figure it out."

Reiko humorously slammed her stand. "Yeah, we're all such dumb asses! Ha!"

"Okay, let's get the easiest part out of the way," Erik said. "The time of death was around midnight. Raise your hand if you have an alibi."

Everyone stayed silent while a few hands were raised.

"Well, that was a good amount of time wasted," Shinobu sighed. "How the hell are we supposed to move the trial along? We barely have any trial experience!"

"How about we tell our alibis, and maybe then we'll either find a contradiction or move on to the evidence?" Naoki suggested.

Akira cheered in excitement. "Now that's our ultimate lawyer!"

Naoki dramatically pointed at Mami. "You were the first to raise your hand. Tell us what you were doing."

"W-Well, since there w-was a motive, s-so I was scared. I-I asked Yuzuru t-to sleep with m-me for the night," Mami said rather innocently. Yuzuru flinched and turned hot red. Chiari swore that she saw steam as well.

"I-I swear that we're just friends!" Yuzuru hissed under his breath as everyone snickered.

Naoki slammed his head onto his podium in defeat and brushed his clothes. "Okay. So alibi's are out of the question. Let's restart from the beginning." He presented the Monokuma File once again. "The cause of death is that she was stabbed in the chest."

"Time of death was around twelve to one," Chiari followed up. "So the murder happened after the party."

Naoki nodded. "Let's start there. Is there anyone who was near the crime scene during that time?"

* * *

 **Make Your Argument!**

 _ **Truth Bullet Loaded: Ki's Account**_

 _Naoki:_ _Is there anyone who was near the crime scene during that time?_

 _Akira: I was **never near the locker rooms** , so I don't know!_

 _Ki: ..._

 _Erik: It's no use!_

 _Romeo: ... **We don't have a lead** , we don't know who's the killer..._

 _Romeo: And I even bet that **nobody even bothered to be out that night to witness it!**_

 _NO THAT'S WRONG!_

 _ **Break!**_

* * *

Chiari's eyes couldn't comprehend what just happened. "Woah! Did I just do that!?"

Akira looked around the room. "Did what?"

Ichirou stared at Monokuma. "Is this what you meant by the virtual reality thing?"

Monokuma winked. "Coorrrrect! I thought about putting a twist to this trial so that you can fire bullets from your e-Handbook with all the evidence you collect! That way, when a phrase can be contradicted, you can fire at those words!"

"I hate everything that comes out of your mouth, but that's actually pretty convenient," Shinobu said. "Were you really out the night of the murder?"

Ki raised her hand. "Yes, I have."

Sousuke smiled. "Then tell us."

"I decided to walk around the ship for a while to get some fresh air," Ki said.

"At midnight? What kind of night owl are you!?" Vonda questioned.

Sora glared at Vonda to let Ki finish, and Vonda blushed feeling embarrassed and twirled her hair to distract herself.

Ki sighed annoyingly. "As I was saying, as I was wandering around the pool, I heard muffled noises near the locker rooms doorway to the outside. I decided not to think about it thinking it was one of you guys since you guys were up late cleaning and just went back inside." Ki pointed at Romeo and Chiari.

Romeo looked at Ki with fury. "You think I was the murderer!? Reina is my sister for fuck's sake!"

"Am I!? Did I murder!?" Chiari panicked.

"I never said you guys were the killer have I!?" Ki said with more impatience. The pair were scared of Ki's sudden burst of anger and became silent.

Naoki stated that he assumed that the killer and the victim had a conversation before they were murdered, so it wasn't a sudden murder. "Now, let's look at this. I've been confused by this for a while." He dug the parts of the note out of his pocket and presented it to the others. Chiari waved her arms and quietly yelled the word "NO" over and over. Everyone was shocked as soon as they saw her name on the first line.

"Well, this confirms it," Ayano said, staring at Chiari. "It can't be helped. Plus, you were acting quite suspicious when Naoki pulled out that note."

Chiari screamed. "No! I'm not the killer! You gotta believe me!"

"Before draw to conclusions, look at where her name is, I can see eraser shavings and faint markings," Naoki said.

"So?" Ayano asked, yawning. "How about this? Chiari wrote the note and erased her name because she make a mistake."

"How could I make a mistake in my name!?" Chiari slammed her fist.

"Woah! Calm down!" Akira said.

"Hey! Don't bully her like that!" Reiko defended Chiari.

Ayano pulled out her game console and rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to make justice. Your point?"

Chiari crossed her arms and calmed down to think. _I know I'm not the killer, but Ayano and Reiko are arguing over it. How do I do this?_

* * *

 **Make Your Argument!**

 **Truth Bullets Loaded: Ki's Account**

 **Ayano's Account**

 _Ayano: Case closed. Chiari killed Reina._

 _Reiko: Hey! We only started! What's your proof?_

 _Ayano: Well for starters, **the note has her name on it.**_

 _Reiko: So!? We already stated that she **couldn't have mistaken her own name!**_

 _Ayano: Fine, let's leave that alone for now..._

 _Reiko: What about Ki? She witnessed the crime firsthand, so **she must have heard two voices.**_

 _I AGREE WITH THAT! **[Ki's Account]**_

 ** _Break!_**

* * *

"I'm sorry, but is it okay if I use your statement again?" Chiari asked.

"No, it's fine," Ki nodded.

"Ki, could you hear the voices clearly when you witnessed the conversation?" Chiari asked in panicky breaths.

Ki shook her head. "No, I could only hear muffled voices."

"Even so, was there any voice similar to mine?"

"No, at least, there wasn't a voice I heard that resembled yours," Ki realized. "I hadn't thought about that. But there was a slightly deeper voice and a more higher pitched voice. Both were definitely female voices."

Ayano huffed. "Fine then. Have it your way." Then she began to relax and fall asleep. Chiari understood that Ayano was trying to make justice instead of thinking about feelings. Classic Ayano... Chiari sighed, cracking a smile, a trembling smile.

"Hey!" Reiko yelled. "At least we all now know that the killer is a female, so that eliminates the males!"

All the guys sighed of relief, knowing that they wouldn't be blamed for murder. Chiari thought about something that she dozed off from the chaos. Sousuke also avoided the conversations and wandered in his e-Handbook, scrolling the truth bullets aimlessly, after stopping at a certain page, his eyes grew wide. Putting all of the evidence together, the investigation they've done before...

"Hey, umm... There's been something I should say to you guys," Sousuke said softly.

Mami leaned in closer. "W-What? Speak l-louder." Speaking so hesitantly wasn't like Sousuke. Mami thought that he suddenly realized an important clue. Sousuke nodded and sighed.

"Look, I know this might be too quick and topic changing, but I think I know a suspect," Sousuke stated with less confidence as usual.

Everyone, even Monokuma and Monomi (Yes, she's still here) sat in silence, comprehending the information Sousuke just said, only hearing the sound of bubbles and crashing waves. Vonda was the first to break the silence, slamming the stand as well. Her face turned red and she took a deep breath.

"Well, well? Why didn't you say this before!?" Vonda pointed at Sousuke. Erik knew that Vonda's patience is usually thin and calmed her down.

Sousuke crossed his arms and felt unsure about going down this pathway. "Well, right before Chiari started her own investigation, I investigated Reina's corpse, although I'm not a doctor like Yuzuru, I just had to."

Yuzuru looked at Sousuke confusedly, thinking he could have just brought him along, but whatever.

"You've seen the dying message right? I assumed that she wrote someone's talent name, besides Chiari's name which has all of those letters..." Sousuke realized what he said since Chiari began trembling. Sousuke avoided the topic and skipped to the important part. _Well, Chiari is a pretty sensitive person... Never guessed that..._ He thought. "And I overheard what happened to the scissors... And 'Information Broker' has all of these letters... I-I... didn't realize until now..." Sousuke couldn't say anymore and let the others realize what he's saying.

Ichirou was the first to comprehend those words. "You don't mean...?" He coughed to get Ayano to wake up, and left himself to think about his own concerns.

Ayano suddenly woke up and glared at the serious journalist, and groaned. "What?"

"Why don't you see yourself?" Sora looked at Ayano in an accusing look.

Everyone looked at Ayano in fear. "You suspect me don't you?" Ayano said, trying her best not to give a damn. "Prove it."

Erik began to tell her about the dying message and the scissors. "You mean, my scissors were..." Ayano said, not finishing her sentence.

"Why? Why!?" Romeo lashed out at Ayano.

"I didn't do it. You've got it wrong..." Ayano said, accidentally dropping her console, still remaining in her calm voice. "Prove it."

Chiari wiped her tears and defended her fellow student. "N-No! S-She can't be the murderer! Just because of the two measly clues!?" Defending Ayano? Who would've guessed. Ayano glanced at Chiari, feeling a warm feeling from her. _This feeling feels familiar..._ Ayano thought. _Why would she defend someone like me?_

"Chiari, don't..." Ayano said. "Look, I didn't do it. Just that won't prove me guilty."

"Just forget it."

"I'm sleepy..."

Ayano attempts to avoid the topic without any care. Naoki grew agitated and came to the conclusion. "You used your scissors to stab Reina and rubbed off the dying message. The note you wrote Chiari's name to frame her, and then in the morning, you covered up your murder by saying you lost your scissors. Also, you rushed the case to say that Chiari was the murder didn't you? You probably wanted the trial over with so you could go free."

Everyone nervously nodded, agreeing. Ayano was now stuck on thin ice. She bit her lip. Chiari shook her head furiously. "No! No! Ayano, you don't have to say anything! You have the right to prove you're not guilty! Tell them! Tell them! I know you said I was the murderer, but you did it with good intention to make justice! Please!"

"Fine, I'm the murder. You happy now?"

* * *

 **Terrible chapter is terrible. Yes, it may feel rushed and jumping all over the place. The previous month and this month has been stressful, depressing months for me. Entrance exams for good schools, tests, activities and volunteering, yeah... 2017 is not starting out good for me. But I hope you have a good day, and the new chapter will not be as late as this one. At least I hope so.**

 **I hope I met up to your expectations. And I'm sorry.**


	14. Chapter 1-6: Trial Time! (Part Two)

**I have no idea what to say anymore. You guys can just say which people you want to interact to each other after the trial or something XD. Or just say how you feel I don't know.**

 **By the way, I won't use much game mechanics from the Danganronpa trials, maybe some rebuttal showdowns, nonstop debates, and panic talk actions here and there, but they're not going to be heavily used.**

 **But I will add a new mechanic: Testimony Examination. Where one person would explain themselves, and the students prove the trial will determine whether it is correct or not or press on for new information.**

 **This might be a long chapter, so bear with me.**

* * *

"W-What. Whatwhatwhat..." The lucky student could not find any words. One of her friends is the murderer? Sure they've only interacted for a little, but she felt as though Ayano holds a special place in her heart as well as everyone else. "WhatwhatWHAT..." Despair? Is this what it feels like? That all hope is lost? All of Chiari's hyper, cheerful personality crushed in a million pieces, and you know what she did? She crouched down, and screamed. She screamed to her broken heart's content. The noise overwhelmed the entire dome, and everyone began to panic.

"Chi! S-She's gone mad!" Reiko froze in shock. "Aya! You know she's been through a lot! You can't just say that bluntly!"

"I... Nothing," Ayano played another court case of Ace Attorney, trying to drown out the despair-inducing screams.

"No, no, NO!" Chiari shook her head, covering her ears, almost like she's having a tantrum. "Get away! Get away! I wanna go home! Please leave Aya-p alone!"

"Suspend the trial!" Sora shouted. "We can't go on right now!"

"Upupu! No way! This is despair I do not want to miss!" Monokuma sadistically cackled. "Who know she could be like this!? What a twist!"

Romeo clenched his fists. "You bastard! This is driving us all insane!"

Naoki regretted pushing Ayano to confess and held his head. "Oh god. Nothing like this has happened before. Is Ayano the true murderer? I-I..." _The ultimate lawyer... Failed? Monokuma is driving us to insanity. I must keep a level head and keep the trial going!_

Sobbing, not paying attention to reality, Chiari was suddenly embraced with cold arms. She removed her hands from her ears and looked behind her with blurry, red eyes. "Shh... It's alright. W-We don't exactly k-know the killer yet. We o-only said she was a suspect. We w-will find the real killer and b-bring justice, alright?"

"M-Mami?" Chiari saw Mami kneeling down with her knees shaking. She embraced Mami back, eyes dull, and almost expressionless as she rested her head on Mami's chest, with tears flowing down her cheeks.

Akira frowned. "Come on guys! We're the ultimates! We should persevere!" He attempted to bring the fallen apart group back together.

Ayano continued to not show a hint of emotion on her face, even though her mind is conflicted. Naoki ran through his thoughts and finally came up with a solution. "Ayano," he managed to sputter. "You're still suspicious, since you are closely related to the crime, but did you at least witness or interfere?"

"Maybe she was the one who wrote the dying message with her talent, to fool anyone," Ichirou assumed. "Since her arms were tied up, Reina didn't write it!"

Sousuke reached out to stop him from going any further, but Ayano raised her hand to pause him. "Besides my scissors..." She hesitated a bit. "I might have used the lights to hang Reina's arms... Quite a coincidence." She rolled her eyes, expecting everyone to gasp dramatically, but everyone remained silent.

"Oh..." Ichirou said, feeling embarrassed. "Wait, what?"

"I couldn't help it," Ayano fiddling with the console buttons.

 **Ayano's Testimony Examination:**

 _Ayano: I've been researching about serial killers and murderer incidents for a little while before the murder. And I've gained this intrest on Genocider Syo, who uses weapons to hang people's arms and legs. **Around midnight,** I heard footsteps rushing downstairs. I realized that my drawer was open and my bag full of items spilled out on the floor. My scissors were gone, so I decided, eh.. Why the hell not? I needed the entertainment, so I followed the noise. **Although, it took me a while, maybe around eight minutes to exit my room.**_

 _After reaching the locker rooms, using my eHandbook to unlock the door, I couldn't see much, **which is why I didn't know my scissors were there.** But I still see her corpse. Because of my serial killer phase, I decided to do something irrational and copy Syo's methods, with lights instead of weapons. I saw a plastic bin full of them on the pool deck, and did the deed._

 _But I didn't write the message. **I saw that the message was already there when hanging her.**_

* * *

Chiari sniffled and brushed the tears off her pajama pants. Mami asked, "Y-You feel better n-now?" Chiari nodded.

"I-I'm sorry everyone for the panic..." Chiari said, looking horrible. "I will explain later... But for now, we should focus on Ayano's testimony..." Most glared at Ayano, since messing up the crime scene was a crime itself.

 **Investigate!: Choose which part to investigate!**

 ** _Around Midnight_**

 ** _Although it took me a while, maybe around eight minutes to exit my room. [Investigate!]_**

"Why did you need that much time?" Sora asked seriously.

"... I have an executive dysfunction disorder..." Ayano said. "I constantly forget things and can not move when I want to... But who gives a damn...?" She paused before speaking again. "I just sat on my bed for a period of time before I moved again and remember to go downstairs. Am I done now?"

"Not yet, we still need more," Sora sighed.

 _ **Which is why I didn't know my scissors were there. [Investigate!]**_

Naoki stared at Ayano, observing. "But wouldn't you have seen your scissors too when hanging Reina?"

She shrugged her shoulders, giving the message that she didn't give two shits. "I wasn't paying much attention. Why would I pay attention to a bloody weapon stabbed into flesh?" Her statement made a few people wince.

 _ **I saw the message was already there when hanging her. [Investigate!]**_

Should she talk to Ayano? Chiari glanced at the Information Broker and fiddled with her thumbs. "A-Aya-p, w-was the message faded when you were there?" She smiled weakly at Ayano.

"S-Stop calling me that..." Ayano had a tint of blush rushing up her cheeks. Her flustered look made Chiari try her hardest not to chuckle.

Naoki smiled for a second, seeing his friend grin for the first time in a while.

"Nope, the message had fresh blood on it." Ayano transitioned from her game console to her cellphone to play more dating games.

Everyone's eyes widened, with an _Why didn't she say this earlier!?_ expression on their shocked faces. "WHAT!? You should've said this earlier!" Romeo yelled with fury in his voice. "Tell us!"

Ayano sighed because of Romeo's stupidity. "If I tell you straight out, the place of events wouldn't make sense. Nobody would understand how, when, why, what, and so on."

Sora crossed her arms. "She has a point... We haven't covered most of the scene of events yet."

"Oh come on!" Akira whined. "I wanted a big climax now!" Ichirou placed his hand on Akira's shoulder and shook his head saying that now's not the time. Akira stared confusedly at the Journalist, since he's blind and oblivious to others' actions.

Reiko winked. "Well, in order to find that climax, we need to work for it!" She made a thumb's up with her hand. Everyone showed a hint of a smile because of Reiko's encouragement and positive attitude. "Following that, I've been confused about the weapon."

"What about it?" Akira tilted his head.

"I-I've been confused too. I-I've been told that the stab wound and the murder weapon is strange when you look at it up close. Not that you should do that," Yuzuru responded quietly. Most nodded in agreement.

"Why's that?" Chiari asked. Thinking back, it was pretty strange. Avoiding the gore and mess, which she didn't want to think about, Ayano's scissors were smaller than the actual stab wound. Which means...

 _ **[ The murderer messed up the crime scene.]**_

 _ **[The stab wound is fake.]**_

 _ **[Ayano is the killer.]**_

 _"I GOT IT!"_

"Jesus, Chiari! Are you alright!?" Reiko jumped back. "Do you need another break!?"

"O-Oops, sorry..." Chiari smiled innocently, scratching her head. "It was just a habit..."

Reiko ushered her that it's alright. "I'm just glad you're back to your old self."

"And why did you blurt that out all of a sudden?" Vonda asked. Erik agreed with his sibling.

Chiari put on her analyzing mode. "Putting two and two together, I think someone went to Ayano's room, stole her scissors to frame her, and made us think it was the murder weapon."

"That makes sense." Ichirou replied. "But what about the possibility that the killer actually used the scissors to stab Reina instead of what you just stated?"

Chiari cupped her hands together in nervousness. "B-But the murder took place right at midnight, Ayano witnessed the stealing of her scissors a little soon after midnight."

"S-So that means," Mami started, "t-that the murderer h-hid the real murder weapon?"

Reiko snapped her finger in realization. "Y-Yea! That must be it!"

* * *

 **Make your argument!**

 **Truth Bullets:**

Murder Weapon and Stab Wound

Bloody Locker

Reiko: So! The murder weapon was replaced to **frame someone right!?**

Shinobu: Duh, that's the only logical explanation.

Yuzuru: B-But, where would they hide it? They **probably didn't have enough time to hide it somewhere secretive before Ayano came.**

Reiko: Oh! Very simple!

Reiko: They must have **[** **hidden it in the bloody locker!]** They must've! Since it's the only locker with blood on it!"

 _"I AGREE WITH... that?"_

 ** _Break?_**

* * *

"W-Wait, Reiko... You've never done an investigation, nor have you even talked to anyone about the crime scene," Naoki realized.

Reiko's eyes widened. "O-Oh! Didn't I tell you that I was investigating soon after the announcement!?"

"But you were with me in the main lobby the entire time," Sora eyed Reiko. "Even I didn't know about the locker."

Sora crossed her arms. "Is there something you're not telling us? You are pretty bad at lying." Ki nodded in agreement.

Reiko scratched her head and sweated bullets. Yep, a terrible liar. "Well, I-I..." Her smile began to twitch, and now she has ruffled her hair into a big mess. "You can't make me suspicious just because of that. Ayano got off the hook so why not me!?"

"Well, based on the obvious expression on your face, you must've been hiding something you didn't want us to hear," Ichirou fiddled with his pencil. "We're not saying you're the killer, so if you tell us the truth, we will let you go."

Ayano smirked. "Well, Monokuma, is it okay to suspend the trial for just a moment?"

Monomi freaks out, waving her arms everywhere. "W-What!? Ayano, what intentions do you have!?"

"Well, the killer can't put the real murder weapon in any old locker. Since only their e-Handbook can unlock their own personal locker, the weapon is in the killer's locker," Ayano presented her game console and pressed a button that made Pheonix say, _"TAKE THAT!"_

Monokuma laughed. "Ohh! Well of course! Such evidence cannot be forgotten!" Seconds after he said that, the mechanical noises of the elevator grew louder until it reached the trial dome.

Chiari's vision became blurry with tears, seeing her tomboy friend, Reiko trembling with fear. Was she hiding something? Surely since she only blurted out one suspicious sentence doesn't mean she is the culprit. Was it?

"Hold on! We're rushing this!" Chiari defended Reiko. "She only slipped up one sentence!"

"We know," Ki said. "But since we discovered that Reiko knows that the killer must've hid the weapon in the bloody locker she so called "witnessed", we can see who's locker the weapon was put in. And that'll pretty much confirm the killer."

Ichirou planned for three students to go to the locker room including Reiko. One student to keep an eye on her, and one to check the crime scene. Naoki confidently volunteered to check the locker and Shinobu volunteered to keep an eye on Reiko, who was fidgeting and sweating bullets.

Everyone silently and speechlessly gazed at the three walking to the elevator, and Shinobu kept trying to calm Reiko down, but she kept shivering vigorously, praying to every buddhist god that everything will be alright. _Reiko... No..._

* * *

"We're back," Naoki said in a grim voice. Reiko was in the background enveloped in shadows. She seemed to be trembling and her face looked like an aftermath of a hurricane. Shinobu reluctantly nodded to Naoki and took a step towards the group.

Shinobu took her e-Handbook out of her pocket, and scrolled down and opened the file for evidence, and a photo of the opened locker projected like a hologram. "Monokuma hacked the locker open for us," Naoki narrowed his eyes. The locker presented a black swimsuit covered in blood, the same swimsuit that a certain Yokai Hunter has worn to the pool party, as well as a bloody knife collapsed in the corner of the locker. And a pink name tag was stuck on the locker wall. Every locker has a name tag of a certain color stuck on the inside locker wall, and the name, "Reiko Yurei" in bold letters.

"It's not was it looks like!" Reiko shouted, with her voice being very hoarse. "Someone must've slipped it in!"

"There's no holes big enough to slip the knife in," Ki immediately butted in.

"Stop it! Stop going against me!" Reiko wheezed.

"R-Rei! Why would you kill Reina!?" Romeo said. "What about the times we spent together!?"

Reiko held her head in pain. Her ears start to ring. "You guys don't know anything! You don't have any evidence! Prove I'm the killer! Prove it!"

 _Reiko is in denial. I must prove she's the murder... I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!_

 **Panic Talk Action!**

"You don't have proof!"

"Check everything! There is nothing!"

Reiko kept sputtering nonsense. Nobody could even say a word.

"Reiko! Please stop!" Chiari cried. "Denial won't solve anything!"

Reiko had a pleading look on her face. "Chiari please tell them! Tell them there's no evidence that I'm the killer!"

 _ **"Is there anything on the crime scene that can prove that I'm the killer!? No! There isn't!"**_

 **Dying Message**

 **"This is the end!"**

Reiko's eyes widen in defeat.

 ** _Break!_**

"T-The dying message?" Reiko stammered.

Naoki nodded. "Remember the letters?"

"..."

"Well, we know that it could mean 'Information Broker', but what else could that mean?"

"..."

"Correct... 'Yokai Hunter'." Naoki saw the absolute dread in Reiko's eyes, as if she was admitting her defeat. She remained in silence in a long time.

"Now, let's summarize the case shall we?" Naoki said. _(Sorry if this case summary is too long I am too detailed.)_

 _Reina recieved the letter saying Reiko wants to talk to her in the locker room at night. Reina probably thought Reiko would help her recover from the incentive so after the pool party, she said she needed to leave early from cleaning to take a shower, not knowing that her actions led to her impending doom._

 _After showering and putting on her pajamas she waited until midnight and snuck to the locker rooms. She opened the door to see Reiko with the knife, and then she lunged at Reina. Using her quick wits, the Ultimate Cheerleader struggled for her life to prevent the Yokai Hunter from killing her. Unfortunately, Reiko sprained Reika's ankle and stabbed her, and Reina sprawled out on the benches._

 _To mess with the crime, Reiko erased her own name and replaced it with Chiari's name, and hid the knife in her locker. To make the crime more confusing, she rushed to any unlocked room in search for a fake weapon. Luckily, Ayano's door was open and she rummaged through her bag to find her scissors. Because of the noise, Ayano woke up and Reiko struggled out of her room. The Information Broker decided to check it out and she saw the corpse of Reina._

 _Since she was in her "Serial Killer Phase" or so she called it, Ayano found the plastic bin full of lights and tied Reina's arms up, not knowing her scissors were there. Chiari eventually found the body at 6:30 in the morning, and that's how it started._

"Is that correct, Reiko?" Romeo growled. He couldn't be bothered to be happy about the situation right now...

"..."

"Answer us!" Yuzuru worriedly yelled at Reiko.

"Yes..."

"N-No..." Chiari's smile faltered and she slammed her hands onto the podium. "No!"

"I did it," Reiko smiled and nervously giggled. "I didn't think you would figure it out..."

Sousuke's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would you murder someone you didn't even have strong relations to?"

Reiko flinched. "M-My parents got murdered by a-a dangerous yokai, and I-I was orphaned at a young age. I-It was a traumatizing moment for me." Reiko looked down with watery eyes. "When the motive was presented, t-the video showed my parents, smiling and beaming. I-I guess that made me snap and to make the decision of killing someone. When I saw Reina also snap, I decided she was the perfect victim. I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."

"Whether you're sorry or not, you've committed a crime," Naoki said.

"Thaaaat's right!" Monokuma cheered. "And now you'll be punished for this crime! Through execution!"

Reiko screamed, "Wait! I want to do something first!" Her legs shook as she stumbled over to Romeo, who backed away from every step. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a journal of some sort, and smiled. "My yokai journal, as an apology gift... I-I know you won't forgive me, but please take it."

Romeo's hands shook and took the old book. His anger and fury settled and all he could say were fragmented sentences. "I-I don't hate you. I-I don't hate anyone..." Romeo cupped his hands and started to tear up. "I-I should be sorry... for yelling and blaming all my problems on y-you. I-I-,"

Reiko rushed into Romeo's arms, hugging him with all her might, leaning her head onto his chest, muttering the same words, _"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."_ Romeo was shocked with wide eyes because of Reiko's sudden actions, but sobbed along with Reiko.

"Noooww then! It's punishment time!" Monokuma said before slamming the gavel onto a big red button. There was a pixelated sprite of Reiko being dragged away by the demented bear. In bold letters, the screen flashed, **Reiko Yurei was found guilty, time for the punishment!**

A rope tied around her ankle, twisting it and Reiko fell and was dragged into a dark hallway, never to be seen again. On a big screen, it flashed the words...

 **The Final Showdown**

Rubbing her ankle, Reiko was given her special sword, and was in a forest full of paper lamps, and was surrounded by every yokai she had fought before. Reiko gained the courage and limped over to the monsters and fought all her might. It was all a blur, Reiko slashing and stabbing every single yokai that got in her way.

Panting and gasping for breath, Reiko clutched her sword, and sweat was trickling her back. Turning around with a confident grin, she faced the surprised Monokuma, saying, _"Is that all you got!? I'll get back to my friends and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"_ Monokuma smirked and a metal cage dropped onto the ground. The bear pulled the lever to open the cage, revealing a certain wheel yokai... The certain yokai that killed her parents... The Wanyudo yokai. Reiko's eyes widened as her face turned unnaturally pale and remained paralyzed. She let go of her sword and collapsed to her knees. Under her breath, she said, _"Mom...Dad...sorry I let ya down..."_

The Wanyudo turned around to see the Yokai Hunter, blazing with fury. The yokai rushed towards Reiko, ripping her from limb to limb, leaving nothing but her sword behind.

Reiko... Is dead.

* * *

"No! No! No!" Chiari repeated the same words and wept with all her might. "Don't leave me! Reiko!"

Mami also cried, her vision blurred, and embraced Chiari. "W-Why'd you do it, Reiko? Y-You were such a good person..."

Sora sighed, praying that both victim and perpetrator will rest in peace, while Shinobu turned pale and turned away from the chaos that was happening.

Sousuke pulled his hood over his head, biting his lip, and Vonda and Erik said nothing, holding each other's hands.

Naoki crossed his arms, thinking that they got what they deserved. Ichirou glared at the lawyer for not taking a person's death seriously.

Akira and Ki's faces saddened, seeing an energetic, positive person die right in front of their eyes. Akira was pretty lucky he was blind, or else he would've fainted.

Romeo kept clutching the journal, with tears endlessly falling down his cheeks, while Yuzuru was disgusted on how inhumane this is. While Ayano... Heh! Didn't give two shits as usual, turning back to something that intrests her.

"Now then!" Monokuma announced. "Let the killing game resume!"

* * *

 **Yay! I'm not dead! Sparkles, rainbows! pewpewpew (explosion noises).**

 **This is my first attempt at a trial. Not the best but certainly not the worst I could've done. Sorry if there are any holes or mistakes I've made.**

 **I'm sorry dashunterman and OtherSenpai, your characters were amazing! Since they didn't have the most character development I wanted to make, they'll have an exclusive chapter. See ya!**

 **And if you're worried about me, yes I'm feeling much more better about 2017. Thanks lucky-cure and CaptainDallasGQ for cheering me up!**


	15. Special Chapter: Reina, Reiko

**This is a special chapter for Reina and Reiko, in memory of them who are now dead. Other Senpai and dashunterman will also be featured in this in honor of creating these amazing characters.**

 **This chapter is not canon to the actual storyline. I just need the character development!**

 **This alternate timeline is when Reina is already more to open to others and when Reiko learns to get along with Reina.**

* * *

 **Reina Hoshi and Reiko Yurei**

"Romeo?" Reina asked. "W-Will you always stay with me?"

"E-Eh? What's with the sudden personality change?" Romeo was surprised, flinching away. He then covered it up with a smirk. "H-Heh, have you finally seen how handsome, amazing, and wonderful I am?"

Reina blushed and felt flustered as she pushed Romeo. "Oww! Haha! What's with you today!?" Romeo smiled as he laid down on the soft mattress.

"S-Shut up..." Reina scoffed. "Look, we haven't hung out for a long time because your manager keeps you busy, and now we're stuck on a cruise. And I know I'm usually cold..."

Romeo frowned, feeling concern for Reina. "Just because my manager keeps making me sing, doesn't mean I'm leaving you out."

Reina rolled her eyes. "Whatever." And then an awkward silence.

"Besides, you have things to do too. You won many awards on your cheerleading career, everyone depends on you," Romeo smiled.

"But you always get the limelight!" Reina cried. "Fans always cheer for you! Your staff and everyone around you support you, and you're always crammed with new songs! You just... I just... I'm always in the shadows..."

Romeo raised his eyebrow. "Are you... jealous?"

"N-No!" Reina turned away from her brother, trying so hard not to let her rippling eyes give away a tear. "You have fame, fortune, fans. And all I get from cheerleading is insults and being looked down upon by my peers..."

Romeo sighed and pinched Reina's cheek. "Wake up!"

"Oww!" Reina rubbed her red cheek. "What was that for!?"

"Hope's Peak chose you for a reason right?" Romeo scolded Reina. "You have talent, you put in all of your effort into your dream. You're a person I aspire to-... Whoops! I said too much!" Romeo giggled.

Reina snorted to hide a laugh. "Are you jealous of me too?"

"Guess so! You're a confident person. You're my sister!" Romeo warmly smiled. "Yes I do have fans, I do have people that keep nagging me, but you're always in my mind."

For the first time in a while, Reina genuinely smiles, and flopped down onto the bed. "Will mom and dad be alright? I mean, we've been gone in a long time?"

Romeo paused before he nodded before he turned to his sister. "Yes... Everything will be alright..." _Everything will be alright._

Before they decided they should sleep, there was a sudden knock on the door. _"Hey! Are you guys there!? We want you guys to meet us at the cafeteria!"_

"Akira!" Romeo pouted. "You just had to ruin the moment!"

 _"Sorry! Hehe! Took a while to find your room since I'm blind! But it's super important! Reiko suggested it! Come on!"_ And Akira walked away.

Reina brushed off her clothes and huffed. "W-Well, we should probably be going now. Come on."

Romeo beamed and ran after her.

* * *

"Hey, Reina!" Reiko gestured for Reina to come over to the kitchen.

"What it it...?" Reina walked over to the energetic Yokai Hunter.

Reiko shoved an apron onto Reina. "Here!"

"Wha? Hey!" Reina threw the apron back at Reiko and huffed. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"Aww! Don't be so rude!" Reiko rolled her eyes and pulled out the pots and pans. Reina was very confused at what the tomboy was up to, but Reina thought she was up to no good.

"We're cooking dinner tonight!" Reiko chuckled. "I don't know how to cook, but I'm sure we'll think of something!"

Reina's eyes widened and she felt infuriated and started to shout. "I don't know how to cook either! How the hell are we supposed to make something edible without giving everyone food poisoning!?"

Reiko ignored the screaming of the cheerleader and began to look inside the freezer. There was an abundant amount of different kinds of meats, as well as an assortment of other frozen ingredients.

"Shit, Chiari's a vegetarian isn't she? Damn it I wanted chicken," Reiko sighed and shivered due to the cold air from the freezer that she decided it was best to close it. She wandered around the kitchen, looking in all the cabinets to see if there's even anything remotely good. She eventually stopped in the pantry, seeing a humongous supply of eggs, flour, and other organic ingredients. She skimmed through the pantry until she saw the tomato sauce, then a bright light bulb appeared above Reiko's head.

"I got it! Pizza!" Reiko rummaged through the pantry to grab an assortment of eggs, flour, sugar and salt, and a bunch of other foods that Reina couldn't keep count of that made her feel dizzy.

Reina gave up and went along with what Reiko was doing. It's not like she could get out of it anyway. She put on her apron and went to work. They couldn't find a recipe book anywhere so they had to use their wits. They got a measuring cup from the cabinet and used random amounts of what they thought was in pizza dough and mixed them together in a big glass bowl.

"Wait, no! We should add more flour!" Reiko pointed to the messy bag of flour. It looked as though the flour was like snow all over the counter.

Reina facepalmed herself. "Are you an idiot? We've already added enough! Our bowl is like a snow pile at the moment!" She groaned. "We'll have to start over at this rate!"

Reiko had enough of the brunette making rude remarks. She then suddenly grabbed a clump of flour from the bag and threw it on Reina's face. The cheerleader stood silently while rubbing the powder of of her eyes. _How could she!?_ Reina worried that she would become blind from the flour in her eyes and ran to the nearest sink to wash it off. Filled with fury, she slowly walked towards the confident Reiko.

"How do you like them apples!?" Reiko said in victory. She then paused, seeing Reina's face. "R-Reina? Y-You okay?

"HOW... DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Reina screamed and grabbed the pizza dough and threw it at Reiko. The dough was so hard and powdery that it threw Reiko backwards and crashed into the pots and pans. She quickly recovered and stood up, ignoring the cooking tools now on the floor.

"Heh, so you want to play that game huh?" Reiko gave a creepy grin and rushed for more flour as Reina grabbed more ingredients. Then it turned into an all out food war. Food being thrown every where as the two were totally covered from head to toe in flour, egg, and numerous amounts of unidentified splotches.

"Got you!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"Shut up you sorry excuse for a yokai hunter!"

"Hey! What's happening!?" Two male voices spoke in unison. But before they could comprehend the mess that was happening, both got flour thrown on their faces.

"O-Oops!" Reiko chuckled nervously. Reina couldn't say a word seeing Romeo and Akira all coated in flour.

Romeo sighed and brushed it off his clothes. "Aww, seriously!? Now I have to wash again! And what is with this mess!? It's like a war ended here!"

"I can't see it! Maybe you should... oh I don't know, DESCRIBE IT for the blind dude?" Akira said jokingly in a snarky tone. Romeo giggled and hit Akira in the head.

"Ow!"

"So, Reina? What did you do?" Romeo asked his sister. "And don't you dare say, 'It was an accident'." The singer smirked at the mortified Reina.

"U-Um..." Reina had no words to say to her brother. "D-Dinners ready?"

* * *

"So then we got into this epic fight!" Reiko explained, all cleaned up and in new clothes. "I totally won though!"

Reina scoffed and turned away. "Hell no. You think that was epic? I didn't want a food fight in the first place. Now everyone is going to see the kitchen and faint."

The four were now washed up and settled down in the cafeteria, having a various selection of beverages on the table. The cafeteria was silent, as nobody bothered to go there to eat apparently.

"H-Hey... This drink tastes funny... Akira what did you put in this?" Romeo peered at Akira, who was very clueless.

"Hmm? I don't know. I couldn't see anything so I grabbed a random bottle from the kitchen." Akira shrugged his shoulders. A sudden noise made him jump.

" _-Hic-!_ S-Sooorrry!" Reiko slurred. Her face looked a bit red and feverish. _Oh god what now...?_ Reina thought, covering her face in annoyance.

"Alcohol? Akira!" Romeo said, surprised. "Did you grab some sort of alcohol!?" Romeo started to shake the sculptor vigorously.

Akira pushed Romeo off of him. "N-No! T-There's no alcohol in the kitchen! I asked Ichirou and he says there isn't any!"

"What?" Reina groaned. She picked up the bottle and it turns out it was actually just non-alcoholic sparkling water. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"The placebo effect," Romeo assumed. "She thought this was booze and now she's drunk. Great... No seriously... Yay..."

"Welp," Akira leaned back in his chair. "Who's going to take care of her?" Everyone slowly turned their heads to Reina.

"Eh!?" Reina backed away. "Why the hell is it me!?"

"You're friends with this tomboy right?" Akira asked. "You can do it!"

"Hell no! I'm not taking care of a drunk person!" Reina protested. But before she could complain more, Reiko fell asleep on the table and drool was on the table. Reina sighed and reluctantly dragged the drunk yokai hunter to her room. Although it took two other males aka Romeo and Akira to pull her up the stairs and into Reina's room. They've settled Reiko into her bed and the boys left Reiko into Reina's hands.

 _Stupid Romeo... Why would he put me on the spot?_ Reina kicked the floor and paced back and forth, waiting for Reiko to wake up from her intoxicated coma. Everyone else has cleaned up the kitchen and just had some sort of Chinese takeout-like food prepared by the more better chefs of the group. Reiko and Romeo has always been by Reina's side, even when she didn't want them around. Maybe it's because she looked lonely? Reina will never know their intentions but at least they keep her going.

Reina sits on the side on the bed, waiting for Reiko to wake up from her drunken dreamland. Reina decided to let go of her emotions and started a conversation. "...You're so lucky you know that?" Reina sighed, realizing she's talking to a sleeping person who can't hear her. "You get to be carefree and happy are you're free to do whatever you want." Reina hid a laugh. "Heh... Resorting to talk to myself because I'm bored. Am I going crazy?"

She looked once again at Reiko, who was napping with a flushed face smothered in blankets. The cheerleader yawned, feeling tired. Realizing that her bed was full, she exhaled and realized she can't do anything about it.

"Mama... Papa..."

The cheerleader jumped, then turned to her bed. Reiko muttered the same words.

Reina smirked. "You are one hell of a hassle..." She said as she laid next to Reiko. Right before she closed her eyes she leaned her head on Reiko's shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

 _"Huh? Y-Yuzuru, this door is u-unlocked,"_ A female voice muffled on the other side of the door.

 _"R-Really? I'll check,"_ A male voice that is assumed to be Yuzuru creaked open the door as silently as he could and peeked through. The doctor smiled seeing the warm, fluffy scene and closed the door.

"Y-Yuzuru? S-Something happened?" Mami asked.

Yuzuru shook his head and grinned. "No. Nothing at all."

* * *

 _OtherSenpai and  dashunterman are online._

OtherSenpai and dashunterman were their nicknames they made for themselves on the chat. 'OtherSenpai' typed vigorously on the keyboard.

 **OtherSenpai:** Hey, guess our characters are becoming friends huh?

 **dashunterman:** Plot twist! Never expected that. Lol

 **OtherSenpai:** Lol, yeah. Polar opposites gaining a bond. So anyway what do you think will happen next?

 **dashunterman:** Meh, I don't know it's unpredictable.

'OtherSenpai' collapsed on their chair, holding their head. _Oh well. Might as well log off now._

 **OtherSenpai:** Gotta go for now. Byeee.

 **dashunterman:** Cool, see ya.

'dashunterman' closed the tab and turned off the monitor. They stretched after standing up and checked the time. 9:00 pm.

 _They won't get killed... Right?_

* * *

 **This isn't a canon chapter as I said before. So it's probably not as good as the other chapters. Well guys? What do you think about Reiko and Reina's non-existent friendship?**

 **'OtherSenpai' and 'dashunterman' were featured briefly featured in this chapter, so please don't be mad XD.**

 **And don't worry guys! The next chapter is actually in the works and is almost done! I decided to not neglect you guys and post something as soon as possible.**


	16. Chapter 2-1: Mourning

**RIP all the best girls. Sorry to ruin your day. But there's one rule in Danganronpa... Never get attached, because there's a 90% chance they'll get killed in a gruesome way.**

 **JK love whoever you want XD. I'm actually drawing Reiko, if you guys want to draw Reina or Reiko to honor their death, go ahead XD. I don't know how I'll be able to see though :3.**

 **But now a poll has commenced! I removed Reiko and Reina (for obvious reasons...) This poll will determine who will have freetime events in the next chapter!**

 **Oh god sorry one more thing! I was a bit stupid when writing the application form, but I need your OC's sexuality, and if they want any romance at all. Because I don't want the character's author become upset when their character is shipped with the same gender or vice versa. Please PM it as a reply to your application PM and PLEASE don't make it a whole new PM, cause I already have tons to keep track of. So have fun!**

* * *

"Waah!" Chiari's eyelids opened and she jumped out of her bed. _A-A dream? No... It couldn't possibly be... They died right before my eyes..._ She rubbed her head and adjusted her glasses since her vision was a bit hazy.

"Good morning," A masculine voice surprised Chiari. Her initial reaction was to do a karate move and kick the living hell out of whoever invaded her domain.

The sudden impact surprised the male and he barely dodged the kick, but his ass had to take the price, as he fell on his bottom. Chiari opened her eyes to see the Ultimate Lawyer sprawled out on the floor, groaning in pain and cursing under his breath.

"O-Oh! Whoopsy!" Chiari said, reaching her hand out to Naoki, pulling him up.

"Are you okay!? Jesus!" Naoki scratched his head, as well as his possibly broken bottom.

Chiari sighed. "Y-Yeah. Sorry. Guess I'm a little tense after t-the..."

Naoki shook his head. "You don't have to say it. But you recovered quickly, that's good..."

Chiari faked a smile. "C-Can we talk...? Sorry since this is sudden. But I just need to tell you something on my mind."

"S-Sure... What's up?" Naoki shrugged as he patted an open spot on the bed for the lucky student to sit down. "But first, can I ask YOU something?"

Chiari flinched but nodded. "O-Okay?"

"When you had a emotional breakdown... It just wasn't like you. You were a happy, positive person. It was heartbreaking to see you in such a state..." Naoki stated his mind. "What was up with that?"

"..." Chiari fiddled with her long, messy chocolate brown hair. "W-Well... I can be a big crybaby at times," Chiari giggled. "I guess I was very traumatized after being the first to see the death of a friend, and people accusing each other for a murder. It was probably too much for me."

Naoki cocked his head. "Are you... Afraid of being alone?"

"...Yep! Heh. Just look at my bio in your handbook!" Chiari said.

Naoki searched through his tablet, to find her dislikes. One dislike caught his eye. **Dislikes: Being Lonely...**

"That's why I love being around people and being a hypermaniac. So I can be noticed," Chiari sighed. "Sorry about talking all about myself. Selfish, isn't it?"

"No. You need to speak your mind so you can feel better," Naoki smiled. "Just be yourself. We'll get out of this cruise, for Reiko and Reina's sake, for justice!"

"For justice!" Chiari pumped her fist up into the sky and laughed. "...Thanks. I needed that."

Naoki gave a warm smile. "C'mon, we're making breakfast. You really love food don't you?"

Chiari blushed. "I-I don't love food that mu-," And as if on cue, her stomach decided to rumble so loud as if it was demonstrating a whale call. _Oh god, why now!?_ She held her stomach in embarrassment.

Naoki gave a smug look. "Looks like you do!"

"Fiiinnee," Chiari smiled, feeling embarrassed. "Just give me a minute." Naoki nodded and closed the door.

Chiari made her bed and tossed the pillows, thinking about the energetic Yokai Hunter, and the cold, yet lovable Cheerleader, and removed her hair tie to brush her long, wavy hair, then just kept her hair down, cause why not? It was good to have a fresh look. She went to the bathroom to wash her face and changed into a lime t-shirt with a cute pattern along with sweatpants. It was a bit cold outside so she put on a gray jacket and sneakers. She rushed out of the room, cleaning and putting on her glasses.

It was a new day. And a fresh, new start.

* * *

"H-Hey, Chiari," Yuzuru said, sitting on a chair in the cafeteria. And it looks like he's not alone too. Everyone else except Romeo met up in the same place.

"Did you get Romeo to come here?" Sousuke asked.

Naoki sighed in annoyance. "I tried before getting Chiari up, but he said he needed some time alone."

"I don't blame him," Shinobu sighed. "He's been through a lot."

Ichirou nodded in agreement, then continued to twirl his pen. "But he'll get over with it soon. He's a goofball, so he'll recover from it quickly."

"Way to enlighten the mood Ichirou," Akira laughed, wrapping his arm around him. "You're serious as usual!"

The journalist felt uncomfortable. "Please get off me... And stop being so immature in a serious situation!" He brushed off Akira's arm and glared. Akira sighed and sat back down.

"But still, I-I hate to see Romeo like t-this..." Mami said. "He d-didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah..." Vonda and Erik said. "Who wants to talk to him after breakfast?" Vonda fixed her clothes.

"Why?" Ki asked, sipping her herbal tea to calm her nerves. "Didn't you hear that he needs some time alone?"

"Because he can't just sulk in his room the entire day," Vonda peered at Ki. "What? do you want him to commit suicide?"

Ki turned back to her tea. "I don't want to start an argument. Just stay quiet."

"..." Vonda gloomily turned back to her breakfast of biscuits and gravy, which was a American breakfast.

"Well this is a tense environment," Sora said. "The cold air, the arguing. I can't take it..." She pushed her chair away and walked out of the cafeteria.

"But I think Vonda is right about one thing," Naoki thought. "He can't stay in his room forever. At least someone has to take his breakfast up to him, or he'll starve to death up there."

"I'll do it," Akira cheerfully answered and voluntarily raised his hand. "I'm his go to buddy!"

"Good luck," Ayano sneered, leaning back onto her chair. Chiari was anticipating for Ayano to fall back, but luckily she didn't.

"Thanks Aya-p!" Akira said, not taking the hint, and rushed off.

"Don't call me fucking Aya-p!" Ayano yelled. But too late. Akira already ran up the stairs.

* * *

"Hmm, Romeo, Romeo... Agh! I should've had someone guide me to his room!" Akira whined. "Maybe he's... Waah!"

"Aah!" Romeo screamed, suddenly seeing Akira in front of his door. "W-What do ya want?"

Akira regained his balance. "Well, I-I thought you might be hungry! I brought you a muffin!"

Romeo gently pushed the muffin away from him. "I-I'm not hungry..."

"Aww c'mon! Romeo, muffin! Take the muffin!" Akira forcefully shoved the muffin into Romeo's hands.

Romeo groaned. "Look, Akira... You don't have to l-look after me all the time, I mean..." Romeo suddenly stopped his statement to hear his stomach moaning for food. Even Akira giggled thinking how embarrassed Romeo must be.

The singer blushed before gratefully accepting the muffin. "T-Thanks..."

 _"I CAN RELATE, ROMEO, I LOVE FOOD TOO,"_ Chiari called out to the two.

"Oh god, I'm dying!" Akira sputtered while laughing like a wheezing goose. Romeo couldn't help but snort and giggle.

"Heh. Okay little jokester, you can come inside and chat with me," Romeo jokingly ruffled Akira's hair and rushed back into his room. Akira ran in after him and the door shut.

As Romeo gobbled down his muffin, Akira took his time to look around Romeo's room, feeling everything since he couldn't see. The only thing that stood out to him was a paper like material, and it turns out what he felt was pictures on his wall, showing two children, smiling and laughing at the park. One was a little girl who wore a sundress and clip-on earrings, and another was a boy who wore a t-shirt and a big hat that is obviously too big for his head. They appeared to be making peace signs.

"Who are these people in this photo?" Akira asked, pointing to it. "Describe them please!"

Romeo warmly smiled and wiped the crumbs from his face, then taking the picture off of the wall. "That picture is me and Reina when we were kids..."

"Oh! Did you love her very much?" Akira patted Romeo's shoulder in comfort.

Romeo sadly grinned. "Yes. She was my support. Reina was with me all the way. Even if she didn't show it."

"While I was dealing with my own problems with being a singer, Reina had her own situation too. She was kicked off of her cheerleading team, and once she was accepted into Hope's Peak, she felt like her world was giving her another chance. And when I was accepted as well..." Romeo paused. "She became a bit distant from me... I don't know the reason, but I care for her all the way."

Akira felt sorry for the depressed Romeo. "You must really love her don't you? Sorry, shouldn't have asked."

"No, no! It's not your fault!" Romeo said. "S-She was clearly in such a horrible mental and emotional state, and I couldn't d-do anything! I-I'm the... worst brother ever..."

"I mean, I knew Reina was r-really hurt after seeing that video, and what did I do? Nothing! If I talked to her or something, s-she would've not been k-killed-,"

 _-Slap!-_

Akira swung his hand across Romeo's face, since he couldn't take it seeing Romeo being so negative about himself. Romeo held his cheek in shock, and Akira glared at the singer.

"Stop being so selfish! If you keep saying it's all your fault, you'll never get over your sister's death!" Akira scolded Romeo.

Romeo let go of his cheek. Still in shock, he snapped out his trance and a tear escaped his eye. "T-Thanks, Akira... I needed that. I don't know what came over me..." Romeo sighed. "W-We'll avenge her, won't we?"

Akira smirked. "Like hell we will! We'll uncover the secrets of Monokuma and we'll destroy him!"

 _"Did you say my name?"_

"Oh my god!" Romeo fell in surprise. "What are you doing here!?"

"I'm just here to find Monomi! Have you seen her?" Monokuma asked. Both shook their heads to signify that they haven't.

"Aww! Well I'm also here to say that a new floor has opened up to you! Feel free to explore it! Bye!" Monokuma zoomed out. _"MONOMI!"_

"T-That's it? That's what he wanted to tell us?" Romeo gawked. Akira shrugged his shoulders in confusion, then stared at Romeo.

"I guess that's enough, so let's go meet the others so we can explore a whole new wooorrrllddd!" Akira danced out of the room, with Romeo following him with a sad smile. _That silly little jokester..._

Chiari and Erik were waiting for them on the bottom of the main stairway, as well as the rest of the students. "Hey!" Erik called out to the duo. "Monokuma told us about the new floor. We're going to split into three groups!"

Akira had a goofy grin on his face and jumped onto Romeo's back as if it was a piggy back ride. "W-What are you doing!?" Romeo shouted.

"Cause you're going to be in the same group as me!" Akira smirked and stuck out his tongue to tease the surprised Romeo. "I can't have you running off and feeling sorry for yourself!"

"Fiiinnnee," Romeo complained and pushed Akira off of him and smiled. "Then you have to be my partner in crime!" Akira made a thumbs up in return.

Erik presented the list. "Sousuke prepared it for us. Luckily for you guys, you are in the same group."

Sousuke followed up on Erik's statement. "Group one is Akira, Romeo, Yuzuru, Ayano, and Mami."

 _Great... I have to watch over these two rascals..._ Ayano sighed, seeing the dynamic duo fist bumping.

Chiari snatched the list and read the rest. "I'm leading the second group, along with Ki, Vonda and Erik, and Sousuke." She skimmed through the last part. "The last group has only four people, which are Shinobu, Naoki, Sora, and Ichirou."

"Do I really have to be with these two guys the entire time? Can't I switch to another group?" Sora pointed at the journalist and the lawyer. But Chiari ignored that comment and moved on.

"Come on, Chiari. We're going first," Sousuke said. Chiari and the rest followed him up the stairs to the second floor. It seems like Monokuma was telling the truth, seeing that the stairway is now unblocked.

* * *

"Woah..." Erik managed to say. "Is this some sort of a ballroom?"

The second floor contains a gigantic modern ballroom with a fancy, shiny quartz flooring and a golden chandelier. On the other side of the ballroom was a giant glass double door with a fancy engraving on it that leads to a overhead deck in midair. At least, that's all they could see for now. For all they know there could be another room. They agreed that Chiari's group would check out the main room, while the other groups would look for other rooms other than the ballroom.

"Me and Sousuke will pair up," Chiari said. "And Vonda and Ki and Erik will search elsewhere."

 _Ki and Vonda have a bit of tension when together, so hopefully grouping them together will help._ Chiari thought, smiling at herself for being clever. Meanwhile, Vonda and Ki had irritated looks on their faces. Erik could see that this wasn't going to end well.

The group separated, leaving Chiari and Sousuke to check the spacious and overwhelming ballroom. The lucky student and the archer wandered around. There's not much in the ballroom that particularly stood out to the duo, just mainly some buffet tables that contained metal trays and ladles that didn't contain any food, which left Chiari in disappointment, as well as a rustic wooden bar beside the wall that had some wine bottles that looked fresh, along with some beer mugs that were stored away. Sousuke wondered why there would be such a misplaced bar, be he didn't dare to question it.

"That's all for the main room I guess?" Chiari asked, and turned over to Sousuke, who nodded.

"That wasn't much wasn't it?" Sousuke scratched his head. "Thought there would be something useful." His eyes wandered around and sighed in defeat.

Chiari twirled her hair and pointed to the deck. "Might as well check there, nobody's there anyway."

Sousuke hesitantly nodded as if he's bothered by something. He stood up, looked at the bar the last time, and ran along to Chiari. The big glass translucent double doors looked very fancy and expensive, with engravings like a stained glass design in a church, with a golden tint that surrounds the doors. The doors were way bigger than even the tallest person, which was Erik. The glass door handles were fortunately within Chiari's grasp, since she's one of the shorter students in this cruise. They struggled to push the doors open, leading to sunlight beaming through the doors, and after rubbing their eyes from the temporary blinded from the sunlight they see a humongous marble platform with a fancy quartz pillar fence surrounding it. There were chairs and tables with umbrellas placed everywhere.

"Woooww!" Chiari gasped. "This view is awesome!" She started to jump and run everywhere, and attempted to jump on the fence, but failed miserably.

"W-Woah! Calm down!" Sousuke chuckled, seeing someone act like a hyper ten year old. "You sure recover quickly."

"Well... If I'm depressed and weeping, what good will that do?" Chiari sighed. "Plus, a certain someone cheered me up."

"Who's that?" Sousuke asked, then smirked. "Is it Naoki?"

"N-No!" Chiari stammered. "Yesss..." Then the lucky student made a smug look back at him. "But you've gotten more social the past few days. Usually you don't talk much and talk only in serious times."

Sousuke blushed slightly. "Well, I have to keep the level head to keep us going. After what happened..." He crossed his arms. "But everyone seems to be friendly, and I've gotten more close to them. I hope we can all get along!"

"Sure we will!" Chiari grinned. "Now, we should find the others!" _I feel like I understand Sousuke a little better now._

They absorbed the vitamin D from the the beaming sun for a few minutes then decided to check on the other groups. Right after they opened the doors back up, they heard violent shouting from a distance.

 _"Stop being so unreasonable!"_

 _"You're the one to talk!"_

"Ki? Vonda?" Chiari's feet acted on their own and ran towards to the sound. Sousuke ran after her.

They tried to budge the door open to where the arguing was coming from, but it seemed that it was stuck. Erik was also outside, trying to get inside. The magician sighed in relief when he saw the others rush towards him. He pointed at the door.

"Vonda and Ki snapped and are having a fight!" Erik said frantically. "And the door got stuck!"

Chiari went on her instincts and looked at her surroundings. The doors were sliding Japanese doors with a vine design on it. Above the doors was a sign that says, "Monokuma Massage and Spa". Sousuke looked at the doors themselves, the doors were in perfect condition but he saw that the doors were not perfectly aligned so that the door can't slide over the other, making it stuck. They nodded to each other and Chiari pulled the door towards her, letting the door become unstuck, and slid the door open.

"What's happening!?" Chiari yelled in front of the commotion.

The two didn't hear her and continued shouting at each other. Ki was a calm awkward soul who dislikes confrontation and Vonda, despite being impatient, was pretty quiet and serious overall. But for the two to be arguing? The deaths of the students must've made them snap.

"E-Everyone!" Sousuke stammered while yelling, as he isn't used to being the mediator. "P-Please calm down and talk to us!"

"Vonda! Stop this or you're going to be punished!" Erik said like an angry mom, hoping that'll make them pay attention. It did make them stop, but not because of fear, it's from the weirdness of that coming out of Erik's mouth.

"W-What do you want?" Ki said with a flustered face. Vonda turned away from them.

"What's going on? What are you even fighting about?" Chiari said worriedly.

"This person is being irritable and questioning my every action," Ki said in defense. "She can't pry open into me."

"Well if you stop being so blunt this conversation would have gone easier!" Vonda growled. "You keep making rude remarks willy-nilly!"

Ki held her head. "Ugh. I have a headache. I absolutely hate arguments, and you just had to start one."

Sousuke groaned. "W-Well, if this keeps going on, we can't keep exploring. Let's look around here then go back."

Ki and Vonda groaned and went on opposite sides. Chiari gazed around. The spa had a serene atmosphere with a tile flooring with tan walls and Japanese lamps hanging from the ceiling. There were massage tables and beside those tables are white towels and different types of scented therapeutic oils like rose and lavender oil. At the end of the room were makeup stands with different types of natural makeup. The lucky student has actually never been to an actual spa before so everything was jaw-dropping for her.

"Wooowww..." Chiari stood still, taking in all of the scenery. She began squealing inside. Beside her was Ki, who's also never been to a spa before, gawking like Chiari.

"Y-You've never been to one either?" Ki broke the silence. She swerved her eyes to a different direction. "Do you want to come here with me some time?"

"U-Uh, sure!" Chiari cheered. She then saw Vonda glaring at the alchemist, then turning back to looking at stuff. Then things became really awkward. Nobody talked for the next few minutes and Sousuke attempted to open the door back up. And lo and behold the door didn't open. Monomi appeared right in front of the group and began her announcement.

"Ahem! Hello! I just wanted to say that the doors were not perfectly aligned to each other and you need to push or pull the door to get the doors unstuck then slide the doors open! Love love!" Monomi said, happy to help the students.

"Where have you been?" Vonda asked. "We haven't seen you often."

"O-Oh! Nothing!" Monomi panicked and rushed out.

 _"MONOMIIII!"_ Monokuma's voice hollered.

 _"EYYYAAAA!"_

"O-Okay... B-Bye! Hehe..." Chiari nervously giggled and pushed the door and slid it open. _That was random..._

After sliding the door closed they began to walk down the red carpeted stairs. Shinobu's group was already downstairs next to the convenience store, either leaning against the wall or aimlessly playing with their hair or hands. Sora spotted the group and waved to them.

"Are the others back yet?" Chiari asked.

Sora nodded. "Yes. They are inside the store. I assume you want to assemble a meeting?"

Sousuke nodded. "Let's meet in there and talk about our findings."

* * *

"So, what did you find?" Shinobu looked at her nails and tried to repaint them.

"Well, as all of you know the stairs lead to the ballroom," Erik stated the obvious. "So Chiari and Sousuke were exploring there... And me, Vonda and Ki searched the right hall."

"The right hall has a spa," Ki said briefly. "Nothing much really."

"The ballroom has a deck along with a bar!" Chiari exclaimed. "Though we're all underage... So we should probably stay away."

A few giggled at Chiari's statement.

"So, why don't you do the honors of telling what we found Ayano?" Akira grinned.

Ayano groaned and pocketed her console. "Basically on the right hallway a lounge that looks like it belongs in an expensive hotel. With windows, modern couches, lights and a modern bar. Happy?" (Basically look up 'lounge' on Google.)

"Aya-p! Be more positive!" Chiari complained.

Ayano expression deadpanned. "I'm done with you, Chiari."

"B-But you mentioned a-an old bar in the b-ballroom," Mami pointed out. "D-Did Monokuma put it there?"

Sousuke shrugged. "Monokuma must've put it there for a reason."

"Well this was pointless," Ichirou sighed. "When are we ever going to use those stuff on that floor?"

"At some point, stupid..." Shinobu rolled her eyes. "Alright. I'll tell you what we saw."

"Further down the right hallway, are more bathrooms. Both function like the first floor's bathroom. You have to swipe your handbook," Shinobu said in a proper manner. "In both bathrooms, there are janitor closets full of cleaning supplies like mops and stuff."

Sora nodded. "Good observation."

"So w-we have a whole new world to explore huh?" Yuzuru said a bit nervously. "We'll have to get used to that."

"Alright everyone. I guess that's it!" Naoki clapped his hands together to finish the conversation.

Everyone agreed to end the meeting and went in different directions. Some went to the second floor to explore a little more while the others stayed on the first floor.

* * *

 **Now the second floor is open! What kind of special events will take place? Just tell me what you think what'll be in store for the remaining students! Baii.**


	17. Chapter 2-2: Free Time Part 1

**Hello again! I like to proudly present more freetime events and crap. The winners are Naoki with 4 votes, Ki and Akira with two votes, and Vonda Sammada with 1 vote. Along with her are Sora and Sousuke but I used a randomizer and Vonda came up.**

 **I appreciate all the compliments on this story! When I first started, I was not confident in my work, but you guys encouraged me and helped me on my journey. Thus, I thank you all for supporting me! And here we go!**

* * *

Chiari began to sketch in the notepad the Monomi provided.

Sketching wasn't really her forte, but it was something to keep her hands busy. She sketched a picture of her and her friends having fun on a sunny day, eating ice cream under a big tree. The proportions were a bit off, and it wasn't as detailed as it could be, but Chiari was very proud of it as if it belonged in a museum. She tried everything to distract herself from thinking about the fact she is in a kill or be killed situation.

Sighing, Chiari stood up from her chair and hid her note pad in the drawers. She headed towards the bathroom and turned on the faucet to wash her face and cooled down. The cold water splashed against her face and she began to cool down. After washing, she turned off the faucet and dried her face with a fluffy white towel.

 _Alright. You've gotta stay positive._ Chiari thought. _Sulking won't help anything._ She began to smile and turned off the light to the bathroom.

 _-Knock, knock-_

"Whaa?" Chiari didn't expect for someone to knock her door in the morning. She confusedly opened the door to find a certain patient with some cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream.

"H-Hey..." Mami said, her arms weakly shaking from the heavy cups. "Some of us m-made hot chocolates a-and I-I didn't w-want you to miss out."

"O-Oh! Thanks! Come in!" Chiari grabbed a cup and welcomed Mami into her room.

The lucky student began to drink the cup of hot chocolate as Mami set her IV to the side and sat down on the bed. The hot chocolate tasted really warm and sweet, and felt like it was made with love. She wondered who made these but Chiari shrugged it off and continued sipping.

"U-Um..."

"What?" Chiari stopped drinking and cocked her head slightly.

Mami limped closer to her. "Y-You have some whipped cream on your f-face." Without realizing it, she began to lean closer and wiped the cream off of Chiari's face with her finger.

Chiari's face began to blush furiously with Mami's strange behavior and the fact that she was very close to her. "U-Uh..."

"What? W-What's wrong?" Mami asked, backing away. "Do y-you have a fever? Y-Your face is turning red."

Chiari became flustered. _Why am I acting so strange around her? Agghh! Say something, Chiari!_

"Nothing! Nothing!" Chiari laughed it off while she remained in her flustered expression. "W-Why don't we go downstairs? Everyone must be down there!"

Mami raised an eyebrow, but nodded and grabbed her IV and walked out of the door. "S-See you later. H-Hope the hot chocolate w-was good."

The door closed. Chiari remained still for a few minutes, slowly locked the door, and buried her head in pillows.

"UUUGGH!" Chiari let her frustrations out. "WHY MUST I BE SO AWKWARD!?"

After punching the pillows, she breathed deeply to calm down. "Just friends. Just friends. Whew. You're all right, Chiari."

 _Though I feel bad for pushing her away. I should apologize later._ Chiari pulled her hair up back into a bun and opened her door back up. Even though they've only interacted a few times, there's something about her that makes her heart pound. She denied that feeling and walked down the stairs.

She hasn't been to the Monomachine in a while. With a few coins she decided to take a risk and gamble all of her coins into the slot, hoping for something good. After turning the metal handle, a capsule rolled out, opening a snowglobe with a miniature Monomi playing in the snow. _This would be a good decoration for my room!_ Chiari shook the snowglobe for fun.

She has some free time to spend so she doesn't really have anything to do. Since the second floor has opened up to the public, she decided it would be fun to explore it a bit more. Chiari ran up the velvet staircase up the the ballroom. She knew that there was no use for the spa at the moment, so Chiari shrugged her shoulders and skipped towards the deck. Because Sousuke helped her open the door the first time, it was a lot harder for her to open them.

 _Uggh! Monokuma better put a gym here sooner or later because I have no upper body strength!_ Chiari huffed and managed to creak the door open. The sunlight once again bathed her as she let the wind flow in her hair.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" A voice called behind Chiari. She turned around to find Ki Akamori peeking through the door, questioning what was Chiari doing here.

"Hi! What's up?" Chiari beamed. Her messy hair was getting in her face and she awkwardly attempted to push it off on this windy day.

 **Freetime Event: Ki Akamori**

"Nothing much," Ki began to sit down in one of the chairs. Chiari was still thrashing around in her blowing hair, while attempting to sit down next to her.

Ki chuckled. "Here, let me help."

Using a green and white polka dot bow Ki tied Chiari's hair back into her signature bun. The lucky student sighed in relief.

"Thanks!" Chiari fiddled with the bow.

"Your welcome. I've been used to you in a bun anyway," Ki shuffled in her seat. "S-Sorry."

Chiari cocked her head. "Huh? Why are you sorry?"

"I'm no good in social situations," Ki said hesitantly. "I actually wanted to be alone today. But you came, and I guess I'm bothering you." She said in a slightly sarcastic manner, even though she didn't mean to.

"N-No! Not at all!" Chiari said, waving her hands. "I'm sorry for bothering you if that's the case!"

Ki exhaled and continued talking while looking at the sea. "Well... Do you have anyone you miss? I know it is sudden, but since we're on this boat, might as well talk about them."

"I totally miss my brother!" Chiari said. "And my papa! Although I haven't met him often, I still miss him!"

Ki raised an eyebrow. "And your mother?"

"...She died in an accident," Chiari said in a slightly serious tone. But she managed to grin it off. "Do you have anyone you miss?"

Ki nodded. "My mother, well... not exactly my 'mother'."

"Huh?"

"Well she adopted me when I was young," Ki explained. "Her name is Hayashi. I used to be in a tribe in an island long ago, when I had to trade with other tribes and live off the land until she found me. We've developed a bond ever since and we moved to Japan together. She eventually adopted me."

"Oh, wow! Awesome!" Chiari clapped. "I'm glad you have someone to support you! Yay!"

Ki's face turned slightly red because of this unneeded support to her. Embarrassment seems to be the word. Ki cleared her throat and she adjusted her hair. It's weird that someone didn't find that living in a tribe was strange.

"Ahem. Well the-,"

 _"Hey, has anyone seen Erik?"_ A female voice was calling out. The girl peeked through the door and immediately their eyes widened. Coincidentally it was Vonda, who was apparently seeking her brother.

Chiari was anticipating an argument to break out, and she covered her ears in preparation for the noise coming up. But all Ki and Vonda did was just stare at each other awkwardly with guilty expressions on their faces. _Huh?_ Chiari slowly uncovered her ears. Ki's expression saddened and looked away while Vonda looked down as if she was in disappointment. In a sort of depressing mood, Vonda said...

"Hey..." Vonda said in a grim tone. "I'll leave now..." She slammed the glass door shut as if she had super strength. Chiari flinched at the sound of the slamming door. She worriedly looked over at Ki, who stood up and said goodbye to her as she left to the first floor.

 _What happened between the two?_ Chiari buried her head in her arms. Feeling very tired from sleep deprivation, her eyelids slowly closed and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

 **Ki's Freetime Event: End**

* * *

"Ugh..." Chiari felt groggy from the bad nap. She looked out in the sky. It was still the afternoon and the sun was going to set soon in a few hours. She attempted to wake herself up.

"Welp... I hope those two get along soon," Chiari said, then shook her head. "I should just clear my mind and have fun!"

With an excited grin, she sat up and began to run into the ballroom. She has never seen the lounge before, so she was excited to lounge around and party with whoever was in there. Before she was able to reach the door, a person blocked the way, smirking. It appeared to be Akira, who was joking around at Chiari.

"What's the password?" Akira giggled, twirling his sunglasses.

"Akira!" Chiari whined in a childish manner. "I just want to explooorrree!"

Akira laughed. "Nope! Ya gotta say the password!"

After long thought, and tons of analyzing, she came up with an answer. With a loud voice, she yelled, "Fsteak!"

Akira paused in thought. "Wha?"

"Fsteak!" Chiari cheered. (Get this reference and you'll get a cookie.)

"I-I can't think anymore... You can come in," Akira shook his head and opened the doors, leading Chiari in. She gasped in awe on how amazing and colorful the lounge was.

The lounge contained an amazing assortment of colorful lights, modern white couches, and an entire wall of glass windows, which has a beautiful view of the pool deck. On the right next to the walls were glass tables and chairs, which were probably used for restaurants. On the left was a really modern looking bar, just like Ayano told them about. But unlike the old bar in the ballroom, it contained no wine bottles or any alcohol whatsoever. But despite that, Chiari was dancing around and squealing about, since now she has more freedom with new rooms.

"Hell yeah! Disco time!" Chiari said.

"That went zero to one hundred real quick!" Akira yelling on top of the music.

Chiari winked at the weirded out Akira and began to turn down the music, just so that he wouldn't turn deaf either. Patting on Akira's back, she gestured for him to sit down. She as well sat down on the couch, but from all the hyperactivity and the groggy nap she had earlier she lied down on the couch next to him. Because of this perfect timing, the lucky student thought it was the perfect time to get to know more about the sculptor, since not much is known about Akira.

 **Freetime Event: Akira Ishiikowa**

"Wow! Never expected for you to hang with a blind kid!" Akira put his hands behind his head and smiled in a pleased manner.

"Blind or not, I don't discriminate," Chiari sprawled her arms and legs on the couch. Her arm is now hanging off of the couch.

She adjusted her glasses and stared at the ceiling. "Soo... What has gotten you into sculpting?" Chiari asked Akira. The sculptor decided to lie down as well, except that he was laying on the opposite direction of the lucky student.

"Well, I just loved to craft stuff with my hands when I was very young. I guess that's where it started," Akira explained. "I was a... unique child."

Chiari rubbed her eyes. "Oh?"

"Well for one, I wasn't originally blind!" Akira chuckled, but with a hint of sadness. "Just a small incident that caused my vision to go boop! Gone."

Chiari felt like Akira didn't want to talk more about his past, so she changed the subject to avoid any awkwardness. Taking a mint from the mason jar on the table, she asked, "Well, how do you like it here? Even with the demented bear, I think it's okay here, don't you?"

"Yeah!" Akira agreed. "Even though I can't see, everyone here is awesome! Plus I've never been on a cruise before!"

"Me neither," The brunette sighed. "But to think we have to kill each other to escape."

"I know! It's crazy!" Akira complained. "That stupid bear is insane! And I don't know what the hell the rabbit is doing!"

The two began ranting about Monokuma's indecent actions, joking and laughing along the way. Time passed as they just laid down on the couch. Feeling that the conversation was getting to boring, Akira had a mischievous grin on his face and snatched Chiari's glasses right off her face. She gasped in surprise and reached for them, but the more she reached, the more Akira stretches his arm away from her.

"Nooo! Akiraaa!" Chiari complained. "Why do you do this to me!?"

Akira smirked. "Because you're fun to mess with!"

For revenge, she took Akira's sunglasses and pulled them away from him. Both were reaching for each others glasses that they ended up playfully fighting for them. Pushing each other, knocking the other over, you name it. They eventually got to the point where they used the pillows on the couch and had a mini pillow fight.

"Ow! Stop hitting me in the face!" Chiari wheezed over her constant laughing.

"Never!" Akira confidently said, only to be hit with a pillow.

After exhausting themselves, they decided to call a truce and shook hands. They stood up and waved goodbye to each other, with Akira staying in the bar and Chiari exiting the lounge, putting back on her glasses and feeling glad that she can see again. Spending time with the sculptor helped her cheer up and just let go of her emotions. _Maybe I should hang out with him again..._

"Oh, by the way!" Akira ran over to Chiari, tracking her down using the sounds of her footsteps. "We're all going to meet up at the lounge again at seven! Romeo says it's important!"

Chiari nodded. "Okay!" Before she could walk away again, Akira called out to her again.

"A-And... Thanks for hanging out with me!" Akira said sincerely. "It helped my boredom!"

She paused her walking and turned over to the sculptor. Beaming, she jokingly stuck out her tongue and smiled. "Well, glad I could cure that boredom!"

 **Akira's Freetime Event: End**

* * *

After a good meal of sandwiches, cookies and tea from the cafeteria, Chiari began to question her obsessive love of food as she began to place the Monomi snowglobe onto her drawer. The snowglobe was really pretty in Chiari's eyes, and it for some reason it calmed her down just gazing at it.

While looking at the various parts of the snowglobe, she unexpectedly found a secret compartment on the base of it. With her curiosity growing she began to open it, and found a little piece of notebook paper lodged inside. The paper was folded clumsily as if someone was rushing to hide it. She unfolded the paper to see really bad yet cutsey handwriting. On the paper, it read, _'Warning!: Ice'_ It was written with pink pen and ink smudges on the paper.

"Huh? Warning? Ice?" Chiari stared dumbfounded at the paper. She then gasped. "Is the cruise going to fill with ice!?"

She then giggled at her lame assumption but put the paper in her pocket just in case. But in the back of her mind she was panicking that it was a warning for the next motive. Did someone manage to get information about the next incentive? Or did Monokuma write it himself? Chiari hit her own head just she could stop worrying so much.

"Aaah! No!" A familiar voice called out to Chiari. She looked back only to find Monomi, who was running with her tiny feet towards her. "Don't read that!"

"B-But I just did!" Chiari clenched the paper tight in her hand. "Did you write this!?"

"Please give it back!" Monomi pleaded, jumping for the note, but Chiari was quick and put it out of reach.

"Then tell me what it's for!" Chiari demanded.

Monomi sadly sighed. "You're so mean to a cuddly rabbit!" She then looked up at her. "I managed to hack into the information about the next motive. But not that much came up. Only 'ice'. I managed to write it down with my paws but then Monokuma got word of my intentions and tried to catch me! I had to hide and run away multiple times! What a meanie!"

"So that's why we haven't seen you often!" Chiari realized.

"Yes!" Monomi said. "I didn't have time, so I hid that note in a snowglobe in the Monomachine and put it back in. And well, you know how that went!"

"Sorry," Chiari smiled and handed the note back to her. "I'm assuming you don't want me telling the others?"

Monomi happily nodded. "Yes! If you do tell them, it would be oh so not good!" She began to start grinning. "Well, I have to go! Ta ta!"

She disappeared into thin air. Chiari wondered what could 'ice' mean. It might give them a head start if they figure it out, but it could be devastating if Monokuma finds out. Probably resulting in severe punishment. Monomi could be a big asset later on to help them gain more clues about the cruise, and the mastermind, but it's a long stretch before that could happen again.

But she couldn't calm down after that incident because suddenly another stuffed animal appeared right before her eyes. And you guessed it, Monokuma. His face was almost completely red, and it looked like steam was emanating from his head. The lucky student began to panic and stumbled backwards. The demented bear slowly stepped towards her with a very furious look on his face.

"Where's Monomi!?" Monokuma shouted.

"I-I don't know!" Chiari panicked. "She left! Can't you just use your cameras or somethin'?"

Monokuma only grew angrier at that comment. "I was busy, okay!?" He soon began to return to his normal color. "Anyway back on the topic, I see that you've broken a certain rule! Multiple times actually!"

"W-Whaa!?" Chiari began to tear up and her brain began to shut down due to the overloading fear she feels. "W-What did I break!?"

Suddenly Monokuma pulled out a chalkboard from who knows where and wrote down the rule with chalk. "Rule number three! Sleeping anywhere other than the bedrooms will be punished accordingly!"

Chiari did remember napping by the pool, the deck, and the stairs. _Idiot!_ she thought. _Why am I so stupid!?_ "N-Now hold on! We c-can talk about this!"

The bear smirked. "Now, now! You're not going to die! ...Yet. But it's just as worse!" He pulled out a syringe with a liquid with she assumed was a kind of drug. Even though Chiari didn't have a severe fear of needles, the thought of the fact she might get harmed by a psychotic stuffed bear scared her. With her quick wit, she got on her feet and sprinted out of the door.

"G-Get away!" Chiari screamed while she rushed down the stairs. Monokuma was right behind her, even though his feet were tiny stubs.

Coincidentally, the ultimate lawyer, Naoki Kenshi was wandering around the lobby. Chiari attempted to stop to avoid bumping into him. But as she did, Monokuma managed to reach her and injected the drug into her arm. Her head began pounding and her vision became really hazy. And before she could say anything to Naoki, she collapsed onto the floor, laying on her side. She had a pained expression on her face as she went to sleep.

With shock, Naoki yelled at the bear. "What was that for!? She didn't do anything wrong!"

"She made an infraction! Simple!" Monokuma declared. "She slept outside the bedrooms!"

"That does not justify for you to do that to her!" Naoki strongly stated. "This punishment is unjustified!"

Monokuma fiddled with the syringe. "Threaten me again and you'll sleep tight too! Upupu!"

Naoki wanted to punch him so hard, but he knew his limits. So he backed off of the bear and began to drag Chiari by the arm up the stairs. He looked up to see that the infirmary is now unlocked from where Reiko woke up in. Picking up Chiari, he placed her on the bed provided in there. Naoki could see Chiari wincing in pain from her pounding head and her sore arm.

"Guess I'll wait for her to wait until she gets up," Naoki sighed. Feeling bad for her, he began to walk out to grab a cup of water for Chiari to drink just so she wouldn't wake up groggy and less awake.

After Chiari was unconscious for a few hours, she woke up. She could barely sit up due her her weak and aching body. Chiari stiffly turned her head to her left to see the lawyer sitting down on a stool with a glass of water. He worriedly looked at the lucky student.

"You okay? That bear knocked you out real good," Naoki grinned and handed her the glass.

With her shaking and recovering arm, she reached out to the glass and managed to drink the water. The water refreshed her parched throat as she gulped it down. Whatever Monokuma injected in her has a severe effect on her body.

"Thanks," Chiari managed to say and placed the cup on the counter. Feeling her body again, she weakly sat up and held her head in pain. "Heh, how stupid I was to nap everywhere!"

Naoki's expression softened and he sat on the bed next to Chiari. "Hey. Since we're here... Ya want to talk about stuff?"

That's when another free time event began.

* * *

 **Yay a short chapter, wooo!**

 **Yeah, I've been putting more text into each paragraph so that's probably why it looks so short. Hey, when I first started I just did dialogue after dialogue and smashed in comedy every 5 seconds, at least I'm improving... I think.**

 **Anyway, I hope these freetime events met your expectations. And question of the day! What do you think the motive is based on the word 'ICE'? Leave a review!**

 **And do you guys think I should rewrite the first few chapters? My writing style has obviously changed since the beginning of the year so just asking. Also summer vacation has started so I'm most likely going to focus on this fanfic more. See ya!**


	18. Chapter 2-3: Free Time Part 2

**Hello. Here's Naoki and Vonda'a freetime events.**

* * *

 **Freetime Event: Naoki Kenshi**

"How are you feeling?" Naoki asked Chiari.

She began to weakly smile. "Y-Yeah... Probably the effect of that drug messed me up." Chiari then darted her eyes to the lawyer. "Why did you help me?"

Naoki shrugged his shoulders. "I just feel the need to help and protect people. That's what a hero would do!"

Chiari began to giggle from Naoki's sudden confidence. It makes sense that he has a strong sense of justice since he's the ultimate lawyer. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she began to ask a question that has been stirring in her mind.

"Hey, why did you become a lawyer?" Chiari asked, sitting up much straighter. "I mean, why not a police officer or a sports mascot?"

Naoki hesitated to answer that question, but knowing Chiari would bombard him with more questions, he spoke up. "Well... My dad was a judge and I wanted to be like him..."

"Cool! So you idolized your father!" Chiari beamed. "I bet your father was a great man!"

The lawyer looked down at the floor. "Well... He's gone now... And now I have to protect my sister at all costs."

The lucky student regretted her decision of asking that now, but her curious mind couldn't help asking another one. "A-And your mother?"

Naoki's expression suddenly grew angrier. "Don't you dare talk about her. She is a horrible person, and she's the reason why I wanted to become a lawyer, to put her in prison..."

Chiari felt really bad for Naoki, as she never thought about how he feels or about his past. She put on a reassuring grin and put her hand on his shoulder. Naoki's eyes widened for her sudden actions, but his angered expression turned into a smile and put his hand on hers. He didn't say anything, but in his mind, he said... _Thank you_. Chiari felt a bond between her and Naoki.

"I talked about myself too much huh?" Naoki scratched his head.

"Don't worry, I've ranted about myself before, now you get to, no worries!" Chiari smiled as she removed her hand from Naoki's shoulders.

All of a sudden, someone burst through the door. It was Yuzuru, looking worried and panicked. "Chiari! Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah!" Chiari jumped from the sudden bursting of the doors. "What are you doing here?"

Yuzuru nervously chuckled. "W-Well, someone told me that you were knocked u-unconscious by some sort of drug by Monokuma. I wanted to help you out."

"Oh! There's no need!" Chiari said.

Yuzuru ignored Chiari reassurance and began to think. "W-Well, if the drug made you sleep, then it was probably some sort of anesthesia or antidepressant."

"There's really no-,"

"Were there any after effects of-,"

"She's fine, Yuzuru," Naoki interrupted. "She's recovering, don't worry."

Yuzuru snapped out of his rambling and apologized. "O-Oh, sorry. I was just worried, but please t-take care of yourself..." He paused before talking again. "A-And tell me immediately if you find any side effects or something n-not normal."

Chiari beamed and made a thumbs up. "Okay."

 **Naoki's Freetime: End**

* * *

After Yuzuru left the infirmary, Chiari began to stand up. The feeling of her legs finally returned and she was able to walk. She waved goodbye to Naoki and thanked him for helping her, while Naoki said he hoped to see her again around the cruise.

Chiari had nothing to do today, other than getting stabbed by Monokuma. It was a pretty nice day, with barely any clouds and with the beautiful sunset, so she decided it would be nice to have a little swim in the pool, because they haven't used the pool in a long time. Chiari began to walk down the stairs and to the locker rooms.

But as she took her e-Handbook out of her pocket, she froze. The corpse of Reina used to be in there, with the scissors lodged in her stomach, and the terrified look on her face. But she took the courage and quickly slid her handbook through the slot and slammed the door open with her eyelids shut tightly. When she opened one eye, she realized that the body was no longer there. It looked like there was no murder at all.

Weirded out, Chiari walked very slowly to her locker. The lights automatically turned on as she unlocked her locker using her handbook. Inside was the same bikini that her wore when they had their pool party. Seeing that there was no other options, she changed into that swimsuit and stepped outside to the pool.

The sun bathed on her skin as she breathed in the fresh ocean air. The waterslide was still in operation, with the water pouring to the pool. Chiari stepped into the pool, and the cool water made her shiver a bit but she then submerged herself into the pool.

"That's cold! That's cold!" Chiari said from the freezing pool.

She tried to get used to the cold water by wading and swimming underwater. Her body eventually adapted to the temperature and she began to just float on her back. _This isn't bad at all!_ Chiari relaxed. _At least I finally get to have some me time._

But that time soon broke when all of a sudden when the door exiting the changing room opened to reveal a certain actress, wearing a blue laced swimsuit and wearing some sunglasses, even though the sun was setting.

"Chiari?" Vonda removed her sunglasses. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much!" Chiari made a snow angel motion on the water. "Why are you here?"

Vonda sighed. "I wanted some alone time."

"Me too! We have so much in common!" Chiari splashed happily which made the actress face palm herself. Vonda then sat down on a chair and relaxed.

Chiari began to feel restless and wanted to talk to someone. She decided to try to make small talk with Vonda.

 **Freetime Event: Vonda Sammada**

"Sooo... How are you?" Chiari swam to the edge of the pool. "How are things between you and Ki?"

That statement made Vonda flinch. "N-Nothing much. We don't t-talk much."

"O-Oh," Chiari got out of the pool and her wet feet slapped onto the floor and she put on a towel and sat next to Vonda. "Why did you guys fight in the first place anyway?"

Vonda's expression saddened. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Please!" Chiari begged. "I want to help you figure out how to resolve this! Besides, probably getting this off your chest will help you feel better!"

Vonda breathed in heavily then exhaled. "All right..." She leaned her head against her arm. "After the first murder, we both were conflicted about how to escape and live our lives on the cruise, and we both have different views on how to handle this. As we were exploring the second floor... We had more tension than usual, and eventually we both snapped about our disagreements."

"I yelled at her first, but Ki resisted to argue as she hates arguments. But we both pushed each other to our limits," Vonda gazed at the sky. "Now... Well we haven't argued after that, but we're a bit... distant from each other."

Chiari's expression softened and she crossed her arms. "Why don't you go talk to her? It could clear up some things!"

Vonda kept a calm face. "But Ki usually likes to be alone. Even if I manage to find her, she wouldn't wanted to talk to me."

"...Maybe Ki is worried about that too."

"Huh?"

"I mean, maybe Ki wants to talk to you too, but she's worried that you wouldn't talk to her either," Chiari realized as she was talking. "Both of you want to reach out to each other, but are afraid to! Wow, I'm so smart!"

Vonda tried her hardest not to smile out of Chiari's statement and set down her sunglasses. "...Fine, I'll go talk to her... later. Are you happy?"

Chiari fiddled with her hair bun and nodded. "Yep. I just can't stand my friends arguing!"

The actress put on a smile on her face and stood up from her seat. She exhaled and turned to the lucky student. "Alright... I'll talk to her..."

Chiari made a thumbs up with her hand. "Now that's what I like to hear."

While Vonda went back to the main entrance of the lobby, Chiari began to go back into the locker room and up to her room on the second floor. With the slide of her handbook, it unlocked her door and she went to the bathroom to take a shower. She felt relieved from not only from the steaming, piping hot water, but also from the fact that finally, Vonda and Ki would get along again. It made her heart feel warm inside.

After turning off the shower and putting on some sweatpants and her signature hoodie and exited her room.

 **Vonda's Freetime: End**

* * *

Chiari decided that she would take a break in the cafeteria. She was glad now that Vonda shared her feelings with her and this whole mess will be cleared up, so she decided to reward herself with some macarons, her favorite baked delectables.

But in the corner of her eye as she was walking down the stairs she noticed a certain kunoichi, Sora with a very annoyed and deadpan look on her face. Even Chiari couldn't comprehend what Sora was thinking.

"Hey! You okay?" Chiari called over to Sora.

Sora glanced back at her. "...Hello."

"What's up? You don't look too happy," Chiari asked with concern.

"Have I ever been?" Sora sighed. She pointed her head at the second floor, where Chiari just came from.

"Hm? What about the second floor?" The lucky student questioned confusedly.

"Go up there and see..." Sora grumbled, not in the mood to talk. Chiari pouted at Sora's lack of cooperation and grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing?" Sora tried to pull back from her grip.

Chiari dragged Sora along with her. "You're coming with me!"

"I-I do not wish to come over there with you..." Sora resisted. But Chiari ignored that and continued to the second floor. Sora was quite strong, so it took a long time for her to go up the stairs.

As Chiari could see, nothing really bad changed in the ballroom. The spa was closed shut but there was no activity going on in there. And of course no one would hang out in a bathroom, so the only option to look at is the lounge. As she reached for the handle Sora began to grow more and more irritated.

In the lounge was everyone, sitting on the couches. But that's not all she could see. On the tables were bottles of alcohol, were many different brands. Romeo looked up and smiled at the two wide eyed girls and waved at them.

Chiari stood in silence and turned to Sora. "You're right, let's leave."

"Wait!" Romeo stopped them. "Nobody has drank any, yet. And come on! You think we would leave the bar alone?"

"I wish to not be here if these boys are going to be here," Sora stated strongly.

"Aww come on, Sora! Come on! We're going to play truth or dare!" Akira pleaded.

"Imbeciles, all of you..." Sora began to turn away.

"Wow, you've convinced her well..." Shinobu said sarcastically followed by a few glares from Akira.

Ayano rolled her eyes while holding one of her electronics. "Just leave her be... It doesn't matter anyways."

"Just hold on..." Romeo rushed out of the door. A few minutes later he returned with a very angry Sora.

"Get off of me you piece of scum," Sora said to Romeo in a very harsh tone.

Romeo began to beg. "C'mon! I want everyone to be here to have some fun! It'll only take a few, I promise!"

Sora groaned, but if joining would make Romeo shut up, then why not?

"Okay! Now let's get started!" Romeo talked like a game show host. "We all know the rules to truth or dare, so I'm adding a few extras." Romeo picked up a shot glass from the table. "Every time you get picked for a truth or dare, you have to take a shot!"

"BUT WE'RE MINORS!" Chiari yelled uncontrollably. She did not want to take part of this inappropriate game.

"And why the hell are we even doing this again?" Ichirou mumbled annoyingly.

"Okay! I go first! Hmm... Sora!" Romeo pointed at the kunoichi. "Truth or dare?"

"What!?" Sora stood up. "You want me to join this ridiculous game and now you are putting me on the spot?"

Naoki decided to butt in and ask a question. "Why do you have such a dislike for boys?"

Sora took offence to that remark and refused to talk. "I am not answering to you..."

"I'm just curious," Naoki said in an apologizing manner. "You don't have to be so rude!"

"Males are the scum of the earth, who's only purpose is to pretend to care, but will leave you behind when you need them the most!" Sora became more infuriated, her heart was beating in an abnormally fast pace. Attempting to calm down, she left the lounge after her sudden outburst. Shinobu stood up from her chair and peered at Naoki.

"Do you people have any decency!?" Shinobu said angrily. "She was clearly uncomfortable, and you guys had to pry open to her personal life! Such people!" She began to run after Sora.

* * *

"Please leave me alone," Sora said, pushing Shinobu off.

The equestrian sighed. "Please have some composure... You're being unreasonable." Shinobu pushed her bangs off of her face. "Those stupid guys didn't mean what they said, they're being them. Please come back, I don't want to be alone in that pig sty."

Sora chuckled at that statement. "You are quite the convincer aren't you?" She looked back at Shinobu. "But I don't want to-,"

"I understand that you hate guys, but can you at least just sit in there? I'll convince them to not let you participate at least," Shinobu twirled her hair. "I for one don't want to participate either, but we need some time together to calm down from the incident..."

"Heh, alright. I'll go," Sora's eyes gleamed. "But I must say, you are quite the beauty."

Shinobu was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing really, let us go," Sora walked back to where the lounge is. Shinobu shook off that previous statement as it was probably Sora being Sora and followed. Maybe she should talk to Sora later. Her statement earlier... _"...will leave you behind when you need them the most!"_ Was there something about the kunoichi's past she didn't know about? Shinobu pushed that thought away and rushed back in the lounge.

 _ **Time: 8:00 pm.**_

"Okay! Now time to start the game!" Akira shouted with excitement. "Romeo already stated the rules, so who's going first!?"

Mami's hand shook as her hand was raising. "I-I would like to ask someone. U-Um... Erik, truth or d-dare?"

"Dare!" Erik decided to become a risk taker. He poured a shot glass of whatever wine or alcohol it was and hesitantly took a shot. He felt a tingle in his spine as he quickly gulped down the drink. As the alcohol kicked in his senses lessened and he couldn't think straight.

"W-What do I say next?" Mami asked.

"You tell them to do something. Anything you wish. It can be funny and embarrassing," Sousuke explained to the patient. "A-Although, something less embarrassing would be nice for now."

Akira smirked. "Are you kidding me? We gotta start off strong! Make it exciting you know?"

"O-Okay. I-I dare you to... Um, hug someone," Mami said.

"Awww... That's lame," Erik slurred from the alcohol he drank. Of course his sibling was his first pick. As he began to embrace Vonda, she was squirming and felt very uncomfortable from the long hug. She was eventually able to push him off.

"Ookay... Ichirou! T-Truuth or dare," Erik said tiredly. Ichirou was shocked seeing him getting picked, which means he has to take a shot. He hesitantly picked up a glass and picked a random bottle.

"Do I have to do this shit?" Ichirou complained. But he knew the answer to his question, so he drank. But because of his lack of experience with alcohol, the taste and effects overwhelmed his body and brain. His eyelids couldn't say open and he collapsed on the couch.

"Ichirou!" Sousuke shook the journalist, but no answer. But he could feel his pulse, signifying that he was just asleep. "W-Well. We're skipping his turn I guess."

Vonda decided she was going to take a turn now. "Umm, Chiari..."

"What!? No way in hell am I drinking!" Chiari backed away from the couch. "UN. DER. AGED!"

"Stop being a coward..." Ayano spun her game console in her hand.

Chiari glared at the information broker. "Oh, and can you do it? Huh?"

Ayano couldn't stand not taking up a challenge, so she sighed and put down her game console. Quickly grabbing a big bottle of beer, she snapped open the top and took a big gulp of the beer. Seeing that make Chiari panic.

"Nononono! Ayano you're going to die!" Chiari swiped the bottle away from her.

"Ugh. I prefer champagne..." Ayano remained unfazed from the beer. "And you said I can't do it?"

"But-,"

"Whatever..." Ayano scoffed and returned to her seat, playing some new games she's gotten from the Monomachine.

"Come on! Chiari!" Akira said excitedly.

Chiari's arm shook vigorously as she picked up the bottle. The top was already open and it looked like a bottle of vodka, with the brand name called, _Monokuma's Limited Edition Vodka!_. Feeling anxious and scared, she slowly poured the clear liquid into the shot glass. She took a deep breath and counted to three.

"O-Okay... Three... Two... Two and a half... Two and three quarters..."

"C'mon already!"

"O-One!" Chiari sipped on the vodka. It tasted absolutely horrible, making her cough and wheeze. But suddenly, her body felt really heavy and tingly, and started to feel... Happier. She couldn't describe the feeling as she was drunk, but she grew out of control, as if her brain was acting on it's own.

"Hahahahaha! Thhhis iiisss g-great!" Chiari giggled uncontrollably and slapped her knee. Her body swayed back and forth.

Akira smiled. "Wow! She's the silly drunk! Cool!" Everyone stared at him. "What?"

"I-It appears that she has low alcohol tolerance since she's never had any b-before..." Yuzuru explained. "C-Can we stop now?"

"Please, yes..." Shinobu yawned, along with a stern nod from Sora, who was sitting next to her in one of the tables.

"NOOO! I want toooo continueee!" Chiari whined like a five year old.

Romeo shrugged his shoulders. "You heard the lady, let us continue. Now, who wants to go next?"

"Wait, what about Chiari?" Vonda pointed at the brunette, who began to drool from her mouth. But it looks like she's not in the state to answer anything at the moment, so Vonda waved her hand, gesturing the phrase, _"Never mind..."_

Everyone looked at each other in hopes that they'll talk first, but nobody did, and stay silent. Romeo felt bored and decided to pick someone from the crowd.

* * *

 **Now, it's time for you guys to contribute! Leave a review on who you want to have a truth or dare, and explain what you what them to do! Please nothing too inappropriate but it can be slightly romantic if you ship a certain pair. And Chiari and Ichirou are in... a weird state, but you can still do stuff with them. :)**

 **I know they're minors and this chapter might be uncomfortable to some, but hey. Did you really think they would ever leave that bar alone? Nope.**


	19. Chapter 2-4: Truth or Dare?

**Oh I'm going to have a lot of fun with this chapter. Thanks Frick Frack Pasta Mama for providing some ideas. You're username is great XD. Also I'd like to thank lucky-cure, RagefulThief, DeadLyokoBrony, and HiroshitheHawk for sending me dares!**

 **Unfortunately, I won't be able to do everyone's dares. But I'll try my best to fit them all in. There will be one dare per person.**

 **This is optional to read, as this is not really relevant to the main plot of killing and crap. If you don't enjoy a sprinkle of fanservice and romance, you can skip this chapter and wait for the next. But make sure to read the end at least.**

* * *

"Okay! Yuzuru!" Romeo enthusiastically pointed at the doctor. "Truth or dare!?"

"E-Eh!?" Yuzuru jumped in surprise. "Why me!?"

Romeo giggled mischievously and held a shot glass. "Why not? I just picked someone from the crowd! We need to amp it up a bit!"

Yuzuru cursed under his breath, but he know that he can't get out of this in anyway possible. A truth isn't as bad as dare, he assumed, so he picked truth. "F-Fine... I choose truth..." The singer chuckled because that's exactly what he expected.

"Kay! You choose truth!" Romeo responded. "So, who do you think looks the prettiest in this room right now! And you can only pick one!"

The doctor's plan backfired. His face began to turn bright flaring red. "W-Wha!?"

"Oooh! Yuuuzzurruu thinking nauughty!" Chiari teased, which only made Yuzuru blush even more.

"H-Hell no I-I'm not!" Yuzuru said in a stuttering tone. "J-Just, what kind of question is that!? C-Can I pick dare?"

Romeo formed an 'X' with his arms, saying that he can't change his choice. Yuzuru frantically looked around the room. He couldn't decide. He didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by not picking them, yet he doesn't want to make everyone get the wrong idea if he picks a girl. But eventually went with his gut and pointed without thinking.

"M-M-Mami!" Yuzuru answered a bit louder than he should have. Mami was unfazed by the doctor's response and only smiled.

"T-Thanks," Mami weakly grinned. "I-I never thought a-anyone would think of m-me as pretty."

Yuzuru was glad the patient didn't take it the wrong way and nodded in response. But everyone else snickered and giggled, making Yuzuru a bit uncomfortable. But now he has to take a shot of alcohol. At least this isn't as nerve-wrecking as what he said previously. He poured a bottle of red wine into the glass and immediately gulped it down. Luckily the wine didn't take too much effect into his body so he was able to stay mostly in full control.

"Mmmyy turn!" Erik raised his hand as if he was in a classroom. "Romeo! Trruuuth or daare!?"

Romeo beamed. "Oooh, turning the tables aren't we? Well then, dare!"

"I daaarree yooou to kiss Akiraaaaa!" Erik laughed, reaching for another shot of alcohol. Romeo took a bit of time taking it all in before almost falling backwards in shock.

"Whaaaat!?" Romeo yelled. "W-What kind of dare is that!? You could have made me do a humiliating dance or lick the floor but this!?"

Akira also was taken aback by this embarrassing dare and his cheeks began to heat up. "The hell!? Eriiiiik! Why would you say that!?"

But Yuzuru didn't back out of his question, and Romeo didn't want to look like a coward in front of everyone, so he had no choice but to kiss his... friend. A guy... Kiss...

"R-Romeo! You don't have to do that! Erik is intoxicated right now so he doesn't know what he-," Akira was cut off by a sudden feeling on his cheek. It felt very soft... and warm. He couldn't see but he knew that it was Romeo, pecking him on the cheek. After pulling away, both were blushing and silent. The only noises were Chiari and Erik squealing, while everyone else's eyes widened from what just happened.

"S-Sorry, I didn't want to back out of a dare," Romeo scratched his head.

"I-It's fine. No hard feelings!" Akira waved his hands back and forth. But he couldn't stop feeling his cheek from the kiss. Is it bad that he didn't... dislike it? _What are you thinking, dumbass!_ Akira hit his head multiple times to get that thought out of his head.

Romeo coughed to break the silence and quickly took a bottle. Rather than pouring it in a shot glass he snapped the cap off and took a tiny sip straight from the bottle. Like Erik and Chiari, he began to grow out of control. Akira began to laugh hysterically from the weird statements he was saying, and broke the awkwardness between them.

"Jesus Romeo!" Akira chuckled as Romeo collapsed right next to him.

"Keeeep going!" Romeo demanded. Akira nodded while beaming and looked up for the next person. "Ichirou! Truth or dare!?"

"Whaaat?" Ichirou rubs his eyes as he woke up from his intoxicated coma. "Why the hell is it meeee?"

"You just can't snooze during our fun! Besides, you don't wanna get punished by Mono-turd for dozing on the couch!" Akira scolded the journalist. "Now, answer the question! Truth or dare!?"

Ichirou groaned out of laziness and half-heartedly answered Akira. "Fiiine, asshole. I choose truth..." He swiped another shot glass from the table and tiredly drank another shot of whatever wine he took. His eyelids drooped even heavier.

"Hmm... As the SHSL Jounalist, what is the weirdest thing you've written in your lifetime?" Ki came up with a question.

Ichirou began to yawn from the alcohol. "Well... One time this asshole was being stooupid and stole all of the socks from a clothing store. Just the socks! Who the hell does that!? Not the famous journalist, thhaaaat's for sure!" A hiccup escaped from his mouth. "They cauuught him and expected me to wriiite aboouuut it! I mean, how was I suppooosed to taaake that article seriouuusly!?"

"Pffftt! Haahaa! I would do thaaat!" Chiari laughed uncontrollably. "Socks are warm and fuuuuuzzzzyyy!"

"Oh my god why me?" Shinobu moaned and placed her hand on her face out of the sheer stupidity of her drunk classmates.

Vonda decided to ask someone now, and pointed to the kunoichi. "Sora, truth or dare?"

 _I thought I wasn't going to participate..._ Sora scoffed but answered the actress' question. "I will choose dare. Now please get along with the request you're going to tell me."

Vonda rolled her eyes. "I dare you to lay in the lap of the person you like the most. But take the shot first so you don't have to drink while laying down."

Sora sighed and took a bottle of whiskey and sipped straight from the bottle. Now for the person she likes the most... The kunoichi took no hesitation and walked over to the equestrian. Shinobu's face grew more surprised by the second as Sora slowly went towards her.

"U-Um... You don't mean me, do you?" Shinobu pointed towards herself as her face became pale. "What the hell is wrong with you people!? Now, Sora, please-, Gah!" Shinobu flinched and her body was completely frozen as Sora placed her head on her lap. Despite Sora's calm demeanor on the outside, her mind was panicking by the fact that she was this close to a female. The kunoichi tried to hide the blush and sweat on her face, and pretended to not gaze at Shinobu's beautiful body.

"You look really pleasant," Sora attempted a compliment.

"D-Don't say such things from the angle you're facing at me!" Shinobu stammered in panic and stress. "W-Why did I even come here?"

"Because of fun!" Akira said enthusiastically. "Now, someone else ask a question! Come on now! Don't be shy!"

"W-Wait! How long is Sora going to be o-on my lap?" Shinobu asked. "The entire time?"

Vonda pondered before giving her response. "Sora can stay on your lap until the truth or dare game ends. Like, if we eventually switch to another game, Sora can get off..." That statement made Shinobu panic in her mind even more, but she tries to be as calm as possible until this ridiculous drinking game ends.

"...My turn..." Ayano said in a bored tone and slightly raised her hand while staring at the game she's playing. "Naoki, truth or dare...?"

Naoki pointed to himself in surprise. "Me? Well... I can choose... Um... Truth!"

Ayano snorted from the creative and hilarious question she came up with. "Okay... Hmm... Who has the best boobs out of all of the girls? You can't back out of this one, ultimate lawyer..."

"The fuck kind of question is that!? Where did you get that idea!?" Naoki stood up and yelled at Ayano. Yet she remained unfazed, and hid a smirk behind her game console. But Naoki knew that if he didn't answer the question, Akira would scold him and give him some humiliating punishment, possibly even more embarrassing than the truth he has to answer. He looked around the lounge at all of the girls, who were all flustered. His eyes eventually stopped at Chiari, and he slowly looked down at her chest. Her big breasts in her wrinkled shirt is what made him accidentally stare.

"Gaah! What the hell am I thinking!?" Naoki turned away and ruffled his hair out of frustration. "Chi, alright!? Chi!"

"Ooooh, that's your nickname for Chiari? I like it!" Akira giggled. "So you think she has the best boobs? Well, can't argue with that!"

"Yaaay! Nao-kun likes my appearaaannccee!" Chiari hugged Naoki.

Naoki attempted to push Chiari off of him. "H-Hey! W-What's the nickname Nao-kun!? A-And please get the hell off of me!" He removed Chiari's arms from him and slowly propped her down on the couch. "P-Please stay there. Please."

"Aww... Okey dokey..." Chiari saluted sloppily and plopped her head on Mami's lap. Mami grew a bit perplexed and surprised at Chiari suddenly laying on her lap, but she didn't really mind the warmness from the lucky student's face.

"Maaan... Nao-kun is being mean!" Chiari huffed in anger while snuggling in Mami's lap. "Meanieee!"

"Jesus Christ..." Naoki hid his flushed face away from the lucky student. "How long is this going on!?"

Akira shook his head. "Longer than you think. Longer than you think buddy."

The lawyer shook his head and poured and drank the wine that Yuzuru drank, just to be on the safe side so he could still keep on his senses and remain in control.

"Yeeeaaah! My turn!" Romeo emerged from the floor and suddenly embraced Akira from behind. The sculptor didn't mind this of course. "Sousuke! Truuuth or daare!?"

Sousuke didn't expect for the singer to pick him. "U-Uh... I guess dare? I-I'm assuming that's a really bad choice isn't it?"

"Yep! I dare yooou to twerk for us! Do it! Do it!" Romeo demanded the archer as Akira was encouraging in the background. Sousuke was taken aback by this humiliating request and protested against it.

"Wha!? H-Hold on, no way!" Sousuke was trying to find words but they just couldn't come out of his mouth. "That's just embarrassing, and humiliating! I-Is there at least some way I-I can get out of that!? Some way?"

Romeo pouted. "Fiiiine... Then drink two shots instead on one! Ya happy nooowww?"

"Yes... Very..." Sousuke sighed and poured a bottle of champagne into two shot glasses. The liquid looked pretty yellow and bubbly, pretty much what normal champagne would look like. He drank one shot, and then he took the other glass and then gulped it down. The drink tasted sweet and felt fizzy as it went down his throat, like sparkling wine.

"Woohoo! Wow, this tastes like sodaaa!" Sousuke laughed. "You know, you guys should try iiiit! _-Hic!-_ "

"Looks like the bubbles have gotten to his head..." Ki observed the wild Sousuke and his actions.

"I wonder if anyone will be an angry drunk, or a sexual drunk...?" Akira spoke out of curiosity. "Anyway, someone ask me a question! I want to be part of the fun too! And don't even bother asking me, cause I choose dare!"

"Then I dare you to drink a glass of whatever we mix for you, the whole glass," Ayano responded with another clever dare. "If you fail to drink the entire thing, you have to take a shot."

"Hmm... A classic! Alright, go for it!" Akira said with a confident grin. "Luckily I'm blind so I can't see anything disgusting!"

The sober people managed to get the drunk people out of the lounge and went downstairs to the kitchen in the cafeteria. They searched the cabinets, the pantry, and the refrigerator for anything remotely bad. Erik opened the fridge to find some milk, fruit, and other chilled foods. In the corner of his distorted vision, he saw this fruit, labeled 'durian'. It was in a plastic container with slices of yellow durian inside. The package has a picture of a spiky brown ball on the top. _Cool, why not?_ He thought and took the plastic package.

Ichirou had to lean on the counter to be able to keep standing, but kept his eye on any food to contribute to the drink. He turned his head to the pantry to find a whole bag of whole wheat flour. Not being on his right mind, he trampled over to the bag and attempted to drag the big bag. Yuzuru saw the journalist struggling to pull the bag and ran over to him with a small plastic bag, and offered to help him, pouring a small amount of flour into the small bag.

Sora couldn't stand being with the other guys but she had to. Now for the food... The kunoichi wandered around the kitchen for anything, ANYTHING to just get it over with. In the corner of her eye, she spotted some wrapped candy in the middle of the counter. She personally liked sweets, so she unwrapped one and popped it in her mouth. It was savory, and very sugary. Sora decided to grab some for the dare, sneaking some more candy in her mouth, and left to the lounge.

After everyone picked out one item, Ki found a blender from the cabinet and everyone threw their... 'interesting' ingredients in, and turned on the 'ON' button. The foods blended into a putrid color, and smelled like no other smell. Even the less sober people covered their noses in disgust.

"Ewwww... That yucky!" Chiari whined while pinching her nose to avoid the smell.

"Hah! Tell me about it!" Romeo laughed while waving the air to wave out the fumes of the blended drink.

"Then let's bring it already," Vonda grew impatient and poured the drink into a random mug while trying not to gag over the smell. "Ugh, Ki help me out!"

Ki began to smile after seeing Vonda asking her for help and picked up the mug. "Gladly, miss actress."

"Don't call me that..." Vonda puffed her cheeks and blushed in embarrassment, which made Ki giggle slightly. It looks like they've talked over about their problem and are now getting along, with a few spats and teasing in between.

They all ran back into the lounge where Akira was leaning back on the couch, waiting for the others to get back. As soon as he heard footsteps running to the second floor he stood up in excitement as they opened the door and handing the drink over to him. The sculptor wrinkled his nose over the smell and the dangerous aura it's giving off.

"U-Uh... Wow, w-what did you g-guys do to this?" Akira said with a nervous laugh.

"U-Um, we picked s-stuff...?" Mami said vaguely, which made Akira even more nervous. He couldn't see it, but he knew it's was going to taste absolutely terrible.

He raised the drink to his mouth, his hand shaking. "O-Okay! I'm going to... do it! Y-Yeah! ...Do... it!"

"Do iiiiiittt!" Ichirou groaned. "Stop being a cooowwwaaarrrddd!"

"I-I'm not being a coward!" Akira lashed out at Ichirou, then turned back to the drink. "I-I just, need some... time! Yeah! Okay! I'm going to do it! Three... Two... O-One!" He chugged the drink to the very last drop, trying not to taste it. But it was too late, the liquid touched his tongue to the back of his throat. It tasted sweet, sour, bitter, and many other indescribable flavors that tasted absolutely horrid. So horrid that he wanted to puke.

"Hmph... Ghhhh!" Akira covered his mouth and could feel the drink coming back up from his stomach. "W-Where's the t-trash... Ughhh!"

"Over there... In the corner." Yuzuru pointed to the mini metal trash can in the corner of the bar. Akira rushed over and threw up.

"Why did we have to do this? Just whyyy?" Shinobu buried her face into her arms while Sora laid back on her lap. "Do we have to keep going?"

"Y-Yes... U-Until everyone has a t-turn..." Akira coughed and limped to the couch to lie down. "W-Who's next?"

"S-Someone c-could give me a-a truth!" Mami volunteered. "N-Not too embarrassing p-please!"

"Okay!" Erik beamed. Whiiiich girl in the group do you think is pretty!?"

Mami made the most certain and quickest answer she's ever made. "Chiari. S-She's beautiful."

Despite Chiari being drunk, her face turned red from that compliment and giggled. "Hehe... Y-You think so? Thaaanks!"

"Y-You're welcome!" Mami beamed. She turned over to the alcohol and her face turned pale. "U-Um, I don't t-think me d-drinking alcohol is the best idea... I-I mean... I d-don't think my weak b-body can take it..."

"Then try drinking ginger beer... It has very low alcohol content," Ayano snapped open and handed her a small can, labeled 'Kuma's Ginger Beer!' Mami was slightly hesitant to take the drink.

"U-Uh... Are you sure? I-I mean..." Mami trembled.

"Just do it, you'll be fine..." Ayano groaned out of annoyance and boredom. "I've never been drunk from that, so you're okay..."

"O-Okay! I'll do it!" Mami said with confidence, yet her voice wavered more than usual. She peeked inside the drink. It looked a bit foamy and golden but she couldn't exactly tell with her poor vision. Not knowing what's going to happen, she took a gulp of the supposedly low alcoholic drink. Despite the reassurance, her body wasn't used to this new chemical and began to react like what a normal drunk person would do. She began to sway and her voice began to slur. Even Ayano was surprised that even the slightest bit of booze could make someone go crazy.

"H-Heeey..." Mami's face was flushed and she was sliding down her IV to the floor. "Sooomeone plaaay with meeee..."

"What the fuck..." Ayano's eyes widened. "How...?"

The patient's eyes slowly turned over to a certain drunk brunette. "Chiarrriiii... Huuugg mmeeee!"

Chiari looked at Mami in surprise and began to blush. "W-Whaaaa? Me?" She was cut off by a sudden embrace and couldn't speak. Mami began to bury her face on her chest and snuggled with her. Even if Chiari was drunk, she felt so much embarrassment from making a scene, which made Naoki a bit infuriated.

"U-Um, c-could you cut it out!?" Naoki spoke. Was this out of jealousy or modesty? He wasn't sure.

"Nooooooo..." Mami poked her face out of Chiari's chest and proceeded to sit on her lap and continued to snuggle with her.

Naoki tightened his fists, but laid back because he knew Mami wasn't herself because of her alcohol.

Now the remaining students that haven't received a truth or dare were Vonda, Shinobu, Ki, and Ayano and Chiari. Naoki decided to choose the equestrian just so he could get to know more about her. "Shinobu, truth or dare?"

"T-Truth..." Shinobu replied.

"Why don't you tell us one of your funniest moments?" Naoki asked.

Shinobu pondered over that question, then began to answer with hesitation. "Fine, I'll tell you... When I first got a horse, I wanted to ride it badly... I might have secretly snuck out at night and tried to ride it... And the horse kicked me off... Aaaaand my parents might have took me home after that."

"Pfffffftttt HAHAHA!" Erik slapped his his knee and laughed hysterically. "Ohhhh your parents must've been piiiiiissseeedd!"

"Shut up..." Shinobu rolled her eyes. Sora glared at the magician with fierce eyes. The equestrian although refused to drink any of the alcohol.

"Uhh... Aren't you gonna take a shooooot?" Romeo asked.

Shinobu crossed her arms and looked at everyone with disgust. "Hell no. Drinking alcohol is bad for you, that's always what my parent says, and I'm sticking to it."

Akira began to smirk at Shinobu. "Seems like rich Shinobu was spoiled rotten by her parents if they care that much for you!"

"S-Shut up, you're being v-very immature!" The equestrian blushed.

Now Shinobu has to pick out of the four girls to ask a question, besides the drinking part. Ayano was busy on her electronics, Ki was bored out of her mind, sitting next to Vonda, who was also spacing out, and Chiari was... busy. She decided to pick the actress. "Vonda, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Vonda said with and intimidating look on her face. "Make it good I'm bored to death, and yes I'm not over exaggerating."

"Then I dare you to kiss the person to your left. That will make it interesting, just like you want," Shinobu told Vonda. The actress' eyes widened from the dare and slowly looked to her left. And guess who was on her left? A certain alchemist who was sitting right next to her. Ki was resting her arm on the couch until in the corner of her eye she saw Vonda staring at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ki asked her. "Stop it... It's annoying..."

Vonda (reluctantly) moved closer and closer to Ki's face, as if she suddenly found the dare appealing. Ki couldn't move back since she was on the edge. She tried to tilt away from the actress as much as possible, but she was about to fall off the edge.

"V-Vonda, this... n-not funny," Ki fumbled with her words and wobbled on the edge on the couch. Vonda, smirking at flustered look on Ki's face, pinned her down and brushed the alchemist's hair off of her face. The intimidating aura the actress was giving off surprised the rest of the group. Ki fidgeted but couldn't move away from Vonda's grasp.

"Aww, did you think you could get away?" Vonda chuckled evilly with Ki shaking in fear. Chiari and Erik giggled together with all of the drama happening.

As Ki closed her eyes in anticipation, she could hear someone kissing, but she couldn't feel it on her cheek, nor her lips. Opening one eye, she saw Vonda, kissing... A piece of paper? And with her name on it? "W-Wha?"

"I kissed Ki, am I good now?" Vonda sighed and threw the piece of paper away. Ki was still baffled on what just happened. Vonda then took a bottle of expensive wine and drank approximately a shot glass full. It tasted horrible and made her cough and spat, but she got it over with quickly and swallowed it in a spit second.

"What kind of alcohol tastes like medicine, uggghh..." Vonda groaned and mumbled under her breath. "Ki, your turn..."

Ki opened her mouth, but no words came out. The shock and her heart pounding stopped her from being able to form words from her strained vocal chords. _W-What... Just happened?_ "T-T-Truth..."

"Okay then, dare for you."

Ki sat up quickly with the blood rushing up her head. "T-That's not-!"

"I dare you to do a pose from your favorite magical girl show," Vonda declared. Even though Ki loved magical girl stuff, doing an embarrassing pose in front of everyone? Especially the ones who are not in their right mind?

Standing up, Ki began to made rash movements with her arms. "U-Um... How does it go? I-I'm soldier m-moon! C-Captain of justice! In the name of the moon, I-I'll punish you!"

Everyone just stared at her, stupefied. The only one clapping was the actress, but it was not a genuine clap. It was a seemingly slow, sarcastic clap the broke the silence. Vonda had a smug look on her face and stood right next to Ki, who was blushing from embarrassment. "Good job! Wonderful!" Vonda kept complimenting her in a sarcastic, smug tone which made Ki even more flustered.

"T-This is why I like being alone..." Ki sat back down, covering her face in her hands to hide the heat rushing up her cheeks, and blatantly refused to drink any alcohol.

After recovering from the... incident, Akira pointed at Ayano. "Now it's your turn! You haven't been engaged in this for a long time! Truth? Or dare?"

"Truthdare," Ayano slurred the words together while putting away a console and taking out another.

"C'mon, don't be like that! Or else I'll have to pick, the big one..." Akira emphasized 'the big one' as if it was the holy object.

"The big one? Please..." Ayano rolled her eyes.

"Fine then..." Akira pushed his sunglasses up like a dramatic anime glasses character. "You're going to play... Seven minutes in heaven!"

That caught her attention from her games. "...What?"

Akira explained. "You have to stay in a closet with anyone in the room for seven minutes. The two of you can do whatever you want in there! Stay there and do nothing, kiss, have-,"

"I get it, I get it," Ayano cut him off, which made the sculptor irritated. Looking around, one particular person catched her eye.

"Naoki, come on," Ayano hopped off her chair and grabbed his arm. Naoki was very surprised that out of everyone here, she would pick him. But he stayed silent and hesitantly allowed her to drag him into the small wooden closet on the other side of the lounge. Unlike the ballroom bar, the closet looked brand new, and surprisingly modern, with sleek and smooth, untouched wood.

"W-Why did you choose me-,"

"Get in," Ayano demanded, cutting off Naoki's burning question. The lawyer opened the door to show a surprisingly empty closet. Big enough to fit at least three people. Ayano sat down in the closet first then Naoki walked in and closed the door behind them.

"So, what do you expect us to do?" Naoki asked, while Ayano leaned back against the wall.

The information broker groaned. "Nothing. We do nothing. Get it?"

"Nothing?" Naoki questioned Ayano. "Won't that be boring to you?"

Ayano remained in her blank expression. "At least I get to go away from the idiotic people who drank that alcohol. Can't they even hold their alcohol?"

"Yes, but..." Naoki paused. "Why exactly did you choose me? Not saying that I'm a bad choice, but we've never... actually interacted with each other alone."

He couldn't see anything in the dark, but he could see a shade of red on the girl's cheeks behind her game console. "...No reason. Don't ask me again."

"Why is your face red? Are you sick?" Naoki asked worriedly. Ayano shook her head and sighed, trying to hide the redness on her face.

"A-Are you oblivious? I admire... I admire..." Ayano stammered with her words, which was very unusual for her to do. "I admire you... You're the ultimate lawyer for god sake. Justice..."

Naoki didn't expect that to come out of her mouth. "O-Oh, really? Well I'm glad you think tha-."

"Just like Phoenix Wright."

"...What?"

"Are you that stupid?" Ayano shoved her hand into her pocket and shoved the game screen in the lawyer's face, showing a man with porcupine hair and a blue suit along with a red tie and a white button up shirt. On the suit was a golden badge, to show that he was a defense attorney.

"H-He is the most amazing, justice oriented defense attorney that has a kind heart and has deep respect for his friends!" Ayano was fired up. "How the fuck do you not fucking know him!?"

"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm not a gamer! I prefer anime thank you very much!" Naoki's temper rose. "I don't play that game! Sue me!"

"Fine! I'll get Edgeworth to prove you guilty, bitch!" Ayano slammed the closet door open and stormed back to the others. "Why did I even bother talking to anyone? Jesus!"

Naoki suddenly felt bad for snapping at her, but hey, she yelled at him first. So that brings her to justice in his eyes. He brushed off his clothes and ran after her. Turning the corner, he saw Ayano, chugging a whole bottle of champagne. He didn't even know a tiny girl could take that much. But it's Ayano, so he shook his head and leaned against the bar. Now, the only person left that never actually received a dare was Chiari.

"Umm, Chiari, you have no daaarree," Ichirou complained at this unfairness. "Truth or dare!?"

"Meaanniie!" Chiari began to fake cry. "Why must you be so meaan!? I pick dare!"

"Then sit on Naoki's lap and kiss him!" Akira butted in, which made Naoki very flustered by the fact he's getting this much attention.

"Hey! Why am I the one being pushed around today!?" Naoki yelled at the others. "And why kissing? Can't you do anything else!? I will not stand for this!"

He turned his head towards Chiari, who was still snuggling with the patient, Mami. The lucky student managed to push her off and stood up, ready for Naoki to sit down. The lawyer's body shook as his feet slowly stepped over to the nearest seat and sat down. His eyes darted into different directions and his face began to sweat. He couldn't tell what he was feeling, but one thing for sure, one of the feelings is fear. Chiari lazily plopped down on his lap and smiled.

"Nao-kuuuun!" Chairi moved in closer. "Do you want a peck on the cheeeeek? Or on the lips?"

"Neither! Neither!" Naoki repeated. But she ignored him and gave the lawyer a peck on the cheek. It was a sloppy kiss, but it was enough for Naoki's face to turn bright red.

Akira clapped his hands to finish off this game. "Alright, folks! That's everyone! Did everyone have fun?" Of course, everyone was either too drunk, or embarrassed to say anything. Sora raises her head off of Shinobu's lap, which Shinobu sighs in relief for that, and Romeo began to drink out of a whiskey bottle and laughed hysterically.

"Akiraaa! Hahaha! Are you serious!? Are you going to end it off like that!?" Romeo asked in his raspy voice. "Let's all drink and have fuuuun!"

"Why the hell nooot? I need to relaaaax!" Ichirou gulped a shot of champagne. Sousuke joined in and snatched the bottle from him to pour himself a glass.

Akira didn't expect this to go so far, but he couldn't just ruin everyone's fun. Everyone except the sensible ones all held up a shot glass of champagne. The sculptor made a toast. "We will find a way out of this cruise in honor of our deceased friends! To us!"

"To us!"

After that, Chiari didn't know what happened. All she could remember was lots of drinking, dancing and music, but other than that, it was all a blur before she passed out, somewhere.

* * *

 _"Dude! Heeeey! Wake up!"_

"..." Chiari woke up strangely, in her bed, in her room. With the worst headache she could imagine. IF she could imagine it, but her pounding head made her thoughts unreadable. Her vision was a big blur and her body was paralyzed and sore, her limbs unable to move an inch. Not even a finger. "..."

"Chiari! Wake up! Geez, are you that lazy?" A feminine voice faintly reached the lucky's student's ears. Luckily, her head was not restrained to her sore body, so she turned her head over to the voice. Her eyes widened to what she saw.

"Ugggh. You're too slow! What happened to you?"

Chiari felt tears rush down her eyes at the sight she was seeing. _R-Reiko?_

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait. This chapter was the biggest chapter I ever had to write. Almost 6,000 words! So if I missed any of the students, please tell me through review and I'll add them in. (Erik was not included because he already received a dare in the previous chapter. Sorry to anyone who sent Erik a dare! :3)**

 **It is certainly not my best since I had to fit about 14 dares/truths in here so some parts might feel rushed. Hope you understand.**

 **I hope that the next chapter won't require that much time to publish. I hope you have a nice day/night!**

 **(Also, happy 1 year anniversary of this SYOC!)**


	20. Chapter 2-5: Nightmares and Hangovers

**OOOOOHHHH. I'm so glad you guys like the last chapter. I'm honestly grateful for anyone who submitted their OC's to me, so we can share wonderful moments in this SYOC together! Sorry of there are any mistakes, I am pretty busy these days with being a member of a school marching band. :3**

 **Last chapter, I put it on an annoying cliffhanger, so here we go!**

* * *

 _Reiko...?_ Chiari felt tears slide down her cheeks and onto her perfectly white bed sheets. Her eyes began to swell and become red and swollen. _No... Way... She died! She died right before my eyes..._ But it was real, she couldn't believe it. The signature red hair, her glasses... It was all there, as if she wasn't injured in the first place.

"Chiari? Why ya not talking? You not in a talking mood?" Reiko (?) asked in a concerned tone. "Ya look terrible! Heh, have you been in a brawl?"

"..." Chiari wanted to open her mouth to scream. She wanted to jump out of her bed and hug Reiko tight and sob, but she couldn't. Her vocal chords were silenced, her whole body was paralyzed, as if a higher entity was controlling her body in every extent. Suddenly, Reiko (?) smirked at her helplessness.

"Aww, is poor Chi-chan being a crybaby about my death?" Reiko snickered with a despairful tone. "Cause if you're wondering, yes! I'm dead! And ya know who's fault it is?"

"..."

"Corrrrect! You!" Not Reiko cackled. "You were trying so hard so that everyone would get along, but what does that do? It makes us fall apart even more! Did ya ever think of that!?"

 _N-No! That's not true!_ Chiari's vision began to blur from all the tears. _I-I just wanted everyone to be friends! I never meant for a murder to happen! Reiko, you gotta believe me!_

As if the not Reiko could read her thoughts, she glared at the lucky student. "Well, that is the wrong choice! Take a look around you..."

Out of thin air, she could see all of her friends, but they didn't have smiles on their faces, instead, they were weak, pale, tears fell to the ground as if it was going to flood the floor. Shinobu (?) was the first to speak up.

"Why would you do this to us!?" She screamed with a weak, raspy voice. "You were so busy playing you're silly games that you brought us all to despair! You could've saved Reina!"

Ichirou (?) spoke next. "You should've been the one to die! You've been no use to us, at all! We've suffered for you, we've tolerated your presence! And this is how you repay us? Pathetic!"

As if on cue, Akira (?) and Romeo (?) replied in sync. "Truly pathetic, Chiari. You could've saved them, saved us from this hellhole."

 _N-No! You're not real! You're not real!_ She refused to accepted what was happening. Suddenly, the figures of Naoki and Mami appeared right in front of her, with blank expressions and dull eyes. They stood like a statue right in front of her, unwavering. Mami (?) looked down at her with pitiful eyes, with Naoki following the same expression.

"C-Chiari... Do you really hate us?" Mami said with barely any stammering or stuttering at all, which was very unlike her.

"I think she deserves to be executed, for justice..." Naoki grabbed Chiari's hoodie and picked her up with inhuman like strength. The lucky student opened her mouth, but no words came out, her limbs were numb. With a blink of the eyes, they suddenly found themselves in a classroom, a gigantic classroom. There was a big conveyor belt that led to a big metal block smashing the ground, shaking the entire room.

Naoki disappeared right in front of her, and was now sitting in a desk, slowly moving towards the block. She was tied up on he legs and her ankles. Chiari began to breathe very heavily and her face began to turn pale and blue. Monokuma appeared on the chalkboard with glasses and a tie, pointing to the chalkboard with a baton. Teaching about the start and the end of life, starting with the egg and sperm. Still, no words could escape her mouth, no movement from her body, just the rising and lowering of the breathing chest.

 _T-They're right..._ Chiari thought. _It's all my fault... I'm useless... I couldn't do anything. I deserve to die._

The conveyor belt stopped right under the creaking metal block, about to lower. _Reina... Reiko... I'm sorry I didn't reach out to you when you most need it._ Chiari shut her eyes tight, anticipating her death to come, but it didn't. It didn't come down.

 _"Get a hold of yourself! What are you thinking!?"_

She opened her eyes from that familiar voice. She looked up to find the ultimate cheerleader (?) walking up to her confidently, and raised her hand, and slapped her... hard. The impact made Chiari fall down to the ground, face first. She could now feel her fingers, and her legs again. Figuring this out, she stood up in front of Reina (?). She could feel her voice coming back to her, and her arms become able to move again.

"Did you really believe what those fakers said!?" Reina (?) scolded Chiari. "You're not useless! You bring joy to everyone! You should never forget that!"

"B-B-But... I couldn't save you!" Chiari cried. "I was so ignorant that I brought everyone to despair!"

"That couldn't be helped! You didn't do anything wrong!" Reina yelled. "Don't think like that about yourself! It's not your fault that Monokuma made us fall into despair! You are bubbly, cheerful, amazing! And you are going to live on, no matter what others say! And get out of here damn it!"

Chiari's eyes widened, she's never been cheered up like this, especially from her deceased friend. But that speech gave her this feeling... Hope. Wiping the tears from her eyes. She nodded confidently. "O-Okay! I'll do it! For you guys!"

The cheerleader began to beam with happiness with Chiari's reply. The world disappeared until it turned into a world of blinding white. "I'm glad you finally realize that. Please, no matter what... Hope for the best."

Reina began to fade away like a ghost, and Chiari smiled along with her, knowing that Reina and Reiko's death will not be in vain. _I will live on for you guys!_

* * *

"Waaah!" Chiari's eyelids swung open in surprise but was greeted with blinding light. _W-Was that... All a nightmare?_ Along with the light, her head felt terrible, and she felt absolutely gross.

"Ugghh…" Chiari moaned from a severe headache and sore muscles. She felt her head pounding vigorously. Her hair was an absolute mess as she was sprawled on the bed wearing nothing but her bra and her underwear. She couldn't tell which room she was in from her lack of vision.

Blinking furiously, she reached out blindly to find her glasses. Chiari's hand reached towards the dresser and felt lots of bags. Chip bags maybe? She assumed her assumption was correct since she felt a lot of crumbs on the surface. Eventually she felt a plastic, weirdly shaped object. She picked it up and squinted at it. Yep, those were her glasses. She clumsily put them on and painfully turned over her body.

Right next to her was Mami sleeping, with her clothes also slightly off, revealing her bra. She had stitches all over her, which makes sense since she's the ultimate patient. Her expression looked so peaceful. She looks adorable when she sleeps. Chiari smiled at the thought and lifted her pounding head to see the carnage. Mainly the girls were collapsed in this room. Ayano was using her bag of video game consoles as a pillow for her head, Sora was sleeping on the chair while Shinobu was leaning against the bedframe. Vonda was resting her head on Ki's shoulder for support.

 _But why would I be on the bed with Mami of all people, with our clothes off? Ugh! I don't remember anything!_ Chiari groaned in frustration. W-Wait… Did we…?

"Hnnng… P-Please d-don't make noise… I-It hurts my e-ears…" Mami flinched. The lucky student jumped in surprise and quietly apologized.

"Mami? W-What happened last night?" Chiari was a bit hesitant to ask.

The patient raised her head. She began to slightly blush. "Y-You were d-drunk after just one s-shot and w-we all played truth or d-dare," She pulled the blanket over her chest. "A-After that, w-we all p-partied I-I think. M-Me and you began t-to snuggle and touch e-each other. After that a-all the girls decided t-to rest at A-Ayano's room. We went on the b-bed and removed our c-clothes. I-I don't remember what happened n-next…"

Chiari's face went completely red as she covered her body with the blanket.

"Y-You know, you h-have a-a big chest you know t-that? I-I unfortunately have a-a small one…" Mami blushed furiously in embarrassment. Mami sure gets flustered easily… Chiari giggled.

"Heheh. Yeah I get that a lot," Chiari said while clutching her chest.

"A-Are you n-not embarrassed b-by this?" Mami whimpered, using the blanket to cover her face. "I-I mean, being without c-clothes and all…"

Chiari scratched her head. "Of course I would be. I mean, there's a possibility that we could've…"

"Could have w-what?" Mami asked.

"Nothing!" Chiari said with nervous laughter.

-Ding Dong, Ding Dong!-

"Gooood morning students! It is now 7 am! Morning has risen! Time to get uuup!"

"Noooo…" Ayano mumbled while snuggling her head against the bag, "Five more minutes…"

"D-Do you want to change b-before they wake u-up?" Mami asked. Chiari gladly nodded, so they began to search for their clothes. But as each minute passes, they still couldn't find their clothes.

"U-Uh… Where is it?" Chiari panicked. "Where are my clothes!?"

"A-Ah! I-I don't know!" Mami panicked as well, with her thoughts swirling in her head.

After looking for a while, Chiari noticed something in the corner of her eye. Her signature hair bow was hanging out of a certain tote bag, under the head of a certain information broker. Mami noticed it too after Chiari waved over to her.

"Ayanooo!" Chiari whisper yelled. "What are you doing with our clothes!?"

"Hmm?" Ayano rubbed her eyes. She opened one eye and was greeted with a brunette and a purplette wearing nothing but undergarments. She began to smirk at the vision she's seeing.

"Oh, you guys had fun haven't you?" Ayano snickered. "Normally in dating sims, this would happen at the climax. But this is okay too."

"Ayaaaa-p! Give us our clothes back!" Chiari exaggerated in her whisper.

"Bored now…" Ayano rolled her eyes and took out a game to play. Chiari began to grow more in fury and her face began to turn red. She snatched the game out of her hands.

"Give that back!" Ayano reached for her console, but due to the significant height difference she couldn't get it. Even jumping for it didn't work.

"Give us our clothes back or no game time for you missy!" Chiari teased and stuck out of her tongue. Mami giggled at Chiari's cheerful gimmick.

"Fine, fine. Geez…" Ayano pouted and rummaged through her bag for their clothes. Eventually Chiari and Mami put on their clothes and snuck out of the room for some breakfast.

As they slowly and quietly closed Ayano's door, they turned around to see Sousuke and Ichirou snoozing on the wall, looking like a complete mess. Chiari waved her hand over the journalist's face, but no answer. Well, she had no choice but to yell to get their attention.

"A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!" Chiari yelled at the top of her hungover lungs. Sousuke and Ichirou both jumped and fell to the floor at the same time, waking them up.

"Holy crap, what the hell!?" Ichirou rubbed his eyes, which had dark bags under them. Sousuke held his pounding head and moaned in pain. "Don't do that!"

"Hey, don't blame me if Monokuma punishes you for breaking the rules," Chiari shrugged her shoulders. Mami giggled in the background while clutching to her IV and painkillers. "Anyway, do you guys need a minute, or do you guys want to come with us for breakfast?"

"Screw you, no way in hell would I come with you guys after scaring us like that," Ichirou groaned. "Besides, I'm going back into my room."

"Hmm? Why?" Sousuke blinked to adjust his eyes to the bright lights.

"I need to get busy writing," Ichirou stretched.

"Writing what?" Chiari asked. "Don't you want to hang out with us? Pleeeaaasssee?"

Ichirou crossed his arms and sighed. "So you think I have any time for others' sake right now? Good bye…" He waved and limped back to his bedroom.

"That's Ichirou for you…" Sousuke shook his head. "I can never understand him. S-So, is it okay if I join you guys to eat. I-I'm kind of hungry, ehehe."

"Yaay! Fooood!" Chiari skipped downstairs, although her hangover is causing her to wobble and trip a few times, but that won't stop her from the delicious pancakes waiting for them.

* * *

"Sooooo gooood… I need a moment with this bagel guys," Chiari savored every bite of her chocolate chip bagel with cream cheese spread.

"Please don't talk while eating, Chiari," Sousuke said while bringing his plate of waffles.

"Sorry, it's just that who knew eating food during a hangover is soooo goood," Chiari said and swallowed. "But last night sucked… We are minors and now we're going to die from drinking!"

"D-Don't assume that, y-you'll be fine," Mami reassured. "W-We had fun, that's all t-that matters."

 _Last night... What happened?_ Chiari's face suddenly became more gloomy. _Why were Reiko and Reina in my dream? Why... Did I want to die? Do I really feel that guilty? I thought I got over it..._

"You okay?" Sousuke worriedly asked Chiari, who began to eat more slowly. "You look terrible. Did something happen?"

Chiari jumped, almost choking on her food. "Gh! N-No! I'm fine, really! It's just the hangover is all! Ehehehe..."

Mami's face grew more concerned. "C-Chiari, you c-can tell us. We're your f-friends!"

 _Friends..._ Chiari thought. _Yes, they're my friends!_ "W-Well, I had a nightmare last night... With R-Reiko and... Reina. And I said... I wanted to die. I can't remember most of it... But I thought, I gotten over it."

"Chiari..." Mami spoke in concern. "I-If that's what's b-bothering you, then you should r-relax and reduce t-tension. Y-You have been worrying about us t-too much." Sousuke nodded, agreeing with the patient.

"Why don't you go to the spa on the second floor? It'll help... I-I think," Sousuke suggested. "Maybe you could go with someone?"

"B-But..."

"C-Chiari," Mami spoke unusually assertively. "I-It's all in t-the past now. I-It's not your fault. W-We all l-love you, and w-we will escape together. That's w-what Akira s-said yesterday, r-remember?" Sousuke nodded in agreement.

"Now, have fun and relax," Sousuke grinned.

Chiari's lips curled up to a smile seeing her friends trying to help her. "O-Okay, I'll take up on that! Thanks!" She chugged down her orange juice, slamming the glass onto the table in the process, and stood up from her chair. "I-I'll go ask someone to join me!" Forgetting all of her problems, she rushed out of the cafeteria, leaving Mami and Sousuke with grins on their faces. _Yeah, that was just a stupid nightmare. I should just enjoy myself and keep moving!_ Chiari thought positively. _We'll beat you to shreds, Monoshit!_

With a beaming face and a slight headache, she felt excited about her plans despite the pain and rushed up the stairs to the dorms. Knocking on Ayano's door, she opened the door, only to find Ayano who fell back asleep, Vonda groaning in pain, with Ki in unison with the actress, and Sora and Shinobu possibly banging their heads against the wall to drain the events of yesterday.

"U-Uh, hey... Guys...!" Chiari said hesitantly. "Having... fun?"

"Shut. Up." Shinobu said in unison to her head banging on the wall. "Please. No. Talking."

"I-I'm glad..." Chiari giggled nervously. _Maybe I should ask someone else._ She walked over to Ayano, who appeared to be drooling onto her bag. Being the impatient person she is, the lucky student kneeled down to the information broker and shook her, hard, as if Ayano turned into a self earthquake. Her eyes snapped open and shoved whoever was shaking her.

"Get the hell off of me..." Ayano groaned while rubbing her eyes. "I gave your clothes back what more could you want?" She then observed Chiari's expression. "If you're begging me to come with you, then I'm out..."

Chiari puffed her cheeks. "Aya-p, it's already eight in the morning! You need some food in your belly!" She said and pointed to her own stomach. "Also, I want you to come to the spa with me!"

 _Knew it..._ Ayano sighed. "Fine, I'll come, I'll come." But as soon as she began to groggily stand up, she froze in place not able to move or follow Chiari. As soon as the lucky student saw this, she ran back to her. Seeing Ayano in such a... weird state, Chiari worriedly stared at her.

"U-Uh, I can get your food... You don't have to come with me," Chiari took another quick glance at the paralyzed Ayano and ran out of the room.

 _Dammit, I can't move again... Why does this always happen?_ Ayano thought angrily. The inability to move frustrated her very much _...It's not like I didn't want to come with her..._ So she decided to wait this out until she could move her limbs again, feeling very uncomfortable.

* * *

Running back to the kitchen, she passed by Sousuke and Mami, who had really confused faces as to why Chiari was running back for more food. She didn't really know what Ayano liked, so she decided that just toast with jam would do. She opened the door to the big, dark pantry to find some bread, then sliding the slices into a toaster. Once she does that, she took out a jar of strawberry jam from the cupboard. The slices of toast popped out like popcorn kernels, golden brown and crispy. Chiari realized she needed a butter knife to spread the jam with, so she ran over to the utensils drawer, only to be interrupted by bumping into a man considerably taller than her, and falling to the ground.

"Owwwiiieee..." Chiari whined from the pain, and collapsed butt first onto the tiled floor. The pain went up her spine and Chiari winced but couldn't move, or else her body would tingle, as if her foot was asleep but in a higher degree.

"Oww! Watch it!"

"Hnnnggg..." Chiari regain the feeling in her bones to turn her neck towards the shouting. That dark pink hair, the grey vest, and the signature dark circles under the eyes, yep. It was Ichirou. He looked surprisingly very irritated and furious. Trying to act innocent, Chiari tried her hardest to put on a goofy smile and put her hands together to apologize.

"Sorry! Didn't know you were there! Hehe... Whoopsie!" Chiari looked up from her pray of apology to see the journalist calm down slightly, but not from her pleas. He turned back to his notepad and continued to scribble words with a worn out pencil. His hand movements with the pencil were very fast, that Chiari couldn't comprehend what he was writing. She regained her balance and continued to reach for the butter knife when a thought popped in her head.

"Hmm? Ichi? Why are you here? Didn't you go to your room to write?" Chiari asked.

"Oh, you're going to make nicknames for everyone now?" Ichirou scoffed, not even looking up from his notepad. "I'm just wandering around, unlike you. Why are you here?"

"I'm making breakfast for Aya-p!" Chiari smiled, feeling proud of herself. "She can't come downstairs, so I wanted to do something for her!"

 _"Must feel really proud of yourself..."_ Ichirou muttered under his breath and continued to scribble down notes, almost ripping the paper from pressing the pencil down too hard.

Chiari cocked her head and waved her hand in front of Ichirou's face to see if he wasn't replaced by a robot. "Umm... Helloooo? Aren't ya gonna eat something? Earth to Ichiiii!"

"Don't have time... For people like you..." Ichirou managed to say, fixing his eyes on the notepad, then he walked out of the kitchen without even looking back, or even a goodbye. Chiari thought that she should talk to Ichirou later, so maybe he could open up eventually. Shrugging her shoulders, she attempted to stop thinking too much and cheerfully hummed her favorite tune as she used the knife to spread the jam on the toast. She set those pieces of toast onto a vintage looking plate with a blue and white pattern.

She picked up the plate of toast and left the kitchen. As she passed by the tables, she only saw Romeo, although he wasn't the jokester he used to be. Dark circles were slapped under his eyes, his hair was an absolute mess like a bird's next, and most of all, his face squished against the table and he leaned on it. His expression looked as if the world crumbled around him.

"Are you okay?" Chiari placed down the plate on the table. Romeo flinched at the sudden voice and turned his head to the lucky student, who's face was full of concern.

"N-No..." Romeo couldn't hold back the tears from his eyes. Chiari was sure this wasn't because of the alcohol, it's already morning.

"Did... Something happen?" Chiari asked. "Was last night rough?"

"..." Romeo held his head, staring blankly at the white table top. He wasn't sure if he should tell Chiari how he felt, because she would laugh at him for it. But humiliation or not, he had to get this off his chest or else he might go insane. Taking a deep breath, he sputtered out words that vaguely tell what happened.

"I... Dream... Nightmare... I wanted to die... Reina and Reiko..." Romeo sniffled while pulling his hair. He waited for Chiari to laugh about him being traumatized by a nightmare, but it never came. Just silence. When he turned back to her, instead of tears of laughter, he saw tears of fear escaping Chiari's eyes. She was shaking from the legs up. Romeo was very confused as to why she was acting this way.

"Y-You had a d-dream like that t-too?" Chiari stammered. Romeo's eyes widened. Chiari felt the same way Romeo did. _He had that dream too? Is this a coincidence? No, it can't be!_

"T-That's strange... How could we have the same nightmare?" Romeo spoke, even more confused as ever. But before Chiari could open her mouth, the TV in the top corner of the cafeteria turned on, revealing a certain bear that they haven't seen in a while. Monokuma was chowing down on a bowl of popcorn. Throwing away the bowl away after finishing only a few kernels, and began his announcement.

"Hellloooo everyone!" Monokuma said. Monomi was tied up with rope in the corner of the room, struggling to set herself free. "Meet me in the cafeteria, stat! Tardiness WILL result in punishment! Bye bye!"

Chiari and Romeo stared at the TV in silence. The lucky student wiped her tears and she turned back, realizing she still hasn't gave Ayano her breakfast. "Oh shoot! Sorry, Romeo... W-We can talk about this later! I'll come back for Kuma's announcement!" Chiari ran as she clumsily picked up the plate and shoved the door open, leaving Romeo baffled.

Before she could run up the stairs, she saw Ayano walking down the stairs. Chiari sighed in relief seeing that she was okay and handed her the plate. "Here, Aya-p! I made some toast for you!" Chiari spoke.

"What the hell, what's with the red eyes?" Ayano took the plate of toast and just began to take minuscule bites. Chiari jumped from her statement and nervously laughed to avoid the topic.

"U-Uh, well Monokuma says that he has an announcement, we should go! Hehe..." Chiari abruptly grabbed Ayano's wrist and pulled her down to the cafeteria. Ayano was surprised as Chiari ran down the stairs with her, leaving her other hand barely holding on to her toast. She was acting very strangely, but the information broker decided that it was just Chiari being Chiari, and unwillingly followed along.

Slamming the doors open, Chiari and Ayano saw that everyone either was already in the cafeteria, or entering along with them. The lucky student immediately rushed over to Romeo, who accidentally fell asleep on the table. She didn't want to disturb him, but the fact that Monokuma would punish him if he didn't wake up before he arrived, Chiari quickly shook him to hopefully wake him up.

Romeo jolted awake from the shaking. "I'm awake, I'm awake!" he said as he quickly stood up. Naoki was the first to question what Romeo was doing.

"Uh, are you okay? You look like crap," Naoki asked. Romeo managed an embarrassed chuckle. But before he could change the topic, a certain bear jumped out of the counter like he usually does, and along with him was Monomi, who was finally not silenced, but still confined to ropes.

Monokuma didn't look so happy. "This cruise life if so boringgg!" He complained. "All I see are stupid kids with smiles on their faces, thinking there's hope for them! Bleghhhh!"

"H-Hey!" Chiari retorted back. "A-At least your dumb tricks aren't getting in the way of our hope to get out of here!"

"Chiari is correct," Sora backed her up. "In honor of Reiko and Reina, we will escape without any bloodshed needed."

"Hope, hope, HOPE! That all I hear!" Monokuma covered his ears as if they were in pain.

Monomi spoke up. "That's right! With our strength combined, we'll-," Monomi was cut off by Monokuma bashing her in the head. "Owwiiee!"

Monokuma grew more irritated. "Shut up, Monomi!"

"It's Usami!"

The bear ignored Monomi's complaint and continued on with his speech. "So, you might have been thinking, gee, why hasn't the great Monokuma released another motive yet? I hope it's beeeeeaaary soon!"

"No, we haven't been thinking that at all!" Erik spoke with confidence.

"Sooooo, your motive will be presented in three... two... ONE!" Monokuma cheered as of a parade was about to start. And as if on cue...

-CRASH!-

"Waaaahhh!" Romeo jumped and fell against the wall. Everyone was actually having trouble standing on their feet. The cruise was shaking immensely, and outside, was a big thunderstorm with big waves crashing against the walls, and raindrops pattering on the windows. Big strikes of lightning flashed in the sky and thunder boomed soon after, striking fear into the students.

"W-What's happening?" Yuzuru wobbled and fell onto the floor, Chiari followed and dropped onto the counter wall.

"W-What the hell is this!?" Shinobu held onto the counter for dear life, trying to grab onto Sora's hand to keep her safe.

"Back in 1912, the titanic was caught in a huge storm and was hit by an iceberg! Only a handful of people survived!" Monokuma explained. "Soooo, in twenty-four hours, this cruise will change direction and sink from an iceberg, and there is nothing you can do! Unless..."

"Let me guess, we kill someone?" Ichirou assumed while hanging onto a table.

"Corrrreeect! Good luck! Or, actually, happy killing!" Monokuma jumped back behind the counter and disappeared.

Monomi managed to set herself free from the ropes and wobbled over to the lucky student, who was clinging onto the carpet floor. "I'm terribly sorry! I should've given you all a proper warning that Monokuma was going to do something awful!"

"It's okay! It's not your fault!" Chiari yelled over the thunder. Loose chairs and tables started to slide on the floor and tip over. Soon, the cruise stop rocking. The waves have seemed to calm down just a little, little enough for the boat to regain it's balance, and Chiari stood up. She then heard someone breathing heavily and whimpering. When she turned around, she saw the singer, huddled in the corner with his face buried in his arms.

"Stop it, stop it! Make it stop!" Romeo screamed, now covering his ears. "Make the thunder go away!"

 _Is he... Afraid of thunder?_ Chiari worried. But before she could reach out and comfort him, someone has already done that for her. Akira also regained his balance from the rocking cruise and crawled over the cry of help.

"Calm down, mister Romeo! Everything will be a-okay!" Akira attempted a joke to calm Romeo down. "It's just a noise, it's going to be alright! I mean, I can't see anything since I'm blind, but-,"

"STOP!" Romeo shoved Akira's arm away, as he breathed very carefully. He sprinted out of the cafeteria, to find anywhere, ANYWHERE, to find somewhere safe. Akira was taken aback from Romeo suddenly snapping. He felt very sorry for the singer, and wanted to ran after him, but a hand reached out to his shoulder, telling him to stop.

"I-I think you should leave him alone for now," Sousuke spoke, causing the sculptor to stop in his tracks. Ayano, on the other hand, was very irritated.

"Ugh. First breakfast, now this. This day just keeps getting better..." Ayano as well exited the cafeteria and wiped off her clothes.

"Poor Romeo, he's been through a lot," Chiari said.

"W-What are we going to do now!?" Yuzuru started to panic. "If we don't do anything, w-we're all going to die!"

"D-Die!?" Mami shivered and turned extremely pale. "I-I don't want to die!"

Erik was worried for everyone. He saw everyone panic, burst into tears, or had conflicted looks on their faces, not knowing how to solve this problem. Vonda saw Erik and held her hand tightly around his, trying to comfort him. Ki stayed silent, but after finally getting along with Vonda, she didn't want everyone to die, not yet.

"Everyone calm down!" Naoki shouted. Everyone turned to face him. "We all know we're in a very bad situation, but how do we know that we're really going to get hit with an iceberg!? For all we know, this might just be a temporary storm and he's just tricking us into killing each other!"

"N-Naoki's right!" Sousuke followed along. "W-We should work together and figure this out!"

"Yeah, are you guys all stupid?" Shinobu recovered from her fall and twirled her hair. Sora didn't like that she was agreeing with those males, but she knew that they did have a point.

Most nodded in agreement to Naoki's statement, but some were still too anxious or worried to follow along. But Chiari knew that they had to keep a level head, or else everything would go wrong. But thoughts were pounding in her head. What happened last night? How did she and Romeo have the same dream? And more importantly...

 _ **Will we all make it out alive?**_

* * *

 **Hello, everyone! We're having a huge thunderstorm where I live! I don't know why this is an appropriate time to post this but whatever, I like writing to you guys!**

 **Now, I'm not saying you have to, but lately, less and less people (mainly submitters to this story) have not been active around this SYOC. Last chapter, only about three submitters out of 16 have been recently active in this SYOC, and that concerns me. I know that not reviewing doesn't mean you're not active, but it feels rather lonely seeing only a few supporters. But I know, everyone has a life. I'm a bit on the busy side as well XD.**

 **I'M NOT SAYING I WANT ATTENTION. This is just saying that at least show me that you're still alive. But again, thank you all to the people who support this. We've come so far. Bye now!**

 **(Now, below this is completely optional, you don't have to use this as a base for your review.)**

 **Who do you think will kill? And do you have a theory as to why Chiari and Romeo were dreaming the same thing? An experiment? A mere coincidence? Leave a review!**


	21. Chapter 2-6: Man Overboard!

**Now here's the next chapter. I really have nothing to say, but thanks for coming on this journey with me. I know every chapter I keep saying thank you, but I never thought I would actually keep this SYOC going. You guys encouraged me to keep writing, so I'm grateful. :3**

 **Sorry, this chapter may be shorter than usual.**

 **By the way, school has started where I live. So I might be uploading slower than usual. But I am 99.99 percent sure that I most definitely will NOT be quitting this story. So don't worry. Also, I'm currently rewriting the 2nd introduction chapter, so the future chapters might be sporadic. Hope you understand.**

* * *

"E-Even if Monokuma might just be tricking us, that doesn't mean we should do nothing." Vonda suddenly spoke up, holding onto her brother's hand tightly. Ki was the first to back her up.

"I agree. We should try to prevent this ship from sinking without murder," Ki said, turning her head to Vonda with a reassuring smile.

Sousuke ran to the front of the crowd of students. "I-I say that we should find the room with the steering wheel. T-The captain's quarters, so we can change direction and avoid the iceberg all together," he announced, trying to show as much confidence as possible, with a few stutters. Everyone looked at the archer with confusion, so he continued. "M-Maybe there's somewhere we haven't explored yet. Maybe a secret door. Maybe we can steer away from death!"

"H-He's right!" Mami said, hope entering her gloomy eyes. "W-We could s-search everywhere for t-the steering wheel a-and nothing b-bad could happen!"

Ichirou rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Are you guys serious? That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard. I mean, there's no way Monokuma would just leave a door open for us to steer away from the 'iceberg'. He would want to make it certain that someone killed another."

Sousuke and Mami's hopeful faces went from a grin, to dejected and despairful expressions. Chiari knew that they were very desperate to find a way out of death's door, and really sympathized with them. But even with their hope, Ichirou also had a point. Monokuma wouldn't just give them the obvious opportunity to avoid someone to kill another one. But maybe, there was somewhere that could help them, something in this cruise that prevents it from sinking.

"I-I think we should at least look!" Chiari spoke up. "Maybe there's something new on the second floor? I mean, what if we didn't look thoroughly enough? Hehe...He..."

Yuzuru hesitantly nodded. "I-I think that is the only option," He then turned his head to sneakily glare at Ichirou. "U-Unless anyone can think of a better idea?"

Ichirou sighed and continued on whatever notes he was writing down. Eventually everyone agreed to this plan and began to form groups of two. Naoki requested some paper from Ichirou, who grudgingly handed one to him, and from everyone's input, he wrote down the people that were going to be in each group. Naoki, Chiari, Sora, Ki, Yuzuru, and Shinobu were in the first group. Mami, Ayano, Sousuke, Ichirou, Vonda, Erik, and Akira were in the second group. After confirming the groups, Akira butted in the conversation.

"Wait! What about poor ol' Romeo?" Akira said with a loud voice. "He needs to be in a group too!

"We don't know where he is. He could be anywhere!" Shinobu contradicted. "Besides, we only have about twenty-three hours left. We can't spend a lot of time looking for him! He needs his space anyway, can't you think before you speak?"

"Sorry! Sorry! Geez," Akira backed up from Shinobu, who's composure is at her limit. The students agreed that the first group will look at the first floor and decks, while the other group searched the second floor. Before the groups separated, Chiari waved back at the group going up the stairs.

"Bye, bye! We'll find a way out of this! I promise!" Chiari ran to Naoki as she said that.

Running back to the lobby, meeting near the fountain. They discussed about how to search around the floor. Many suggested that they should stick as one group, others suggested that they split up and search in different parts of the floor.

"I think splitting up is the best idea," Naoki said with absolute seriousness. "We only have a day to explore, so we should be as efficient as possible and pair up and search different rooms. Every corner, every detail could be important."

Knowing that they're in a desperate situation, everyone quickly agreed to the idea. The entire group went on impulse and went with the first person that they contacted eyes with. For Chiari it was Yuzuru, both heading towards the cruise convenience store. Chiari felt the nostalgia, being with Yuzuru, the first person she met when they first woke up in this nightmare of a cruise. But there was no time to be thinking about the past, they all were focusing in the terrible present.

Opening the glass double doors, they saw that nothing much has changed. The monomachine was still in the same location, the products haven't changed much but with maybe a few new additions to it, and the checkout counter was full of small cheap amendments like in normal stores.

"Why don't I look i-in the left side and you can check the right," Yuzuru suggested, which Chiari did not haste to run over to the right side of the store.

Despite not much changing, the products in this store are very strange compared to a normal store. Instead of candy, gum, or instant ramen, one of the shelves were stocked with toolboxes, matches, and lots of other products you'd find at like a sports or hardware store. The other shelves contained weird snacks in an over-exaggerated packet sizes with a few basic over the counter medicines with a monokuma logo on it.

Chiari searched every nook and cranny, looking at any little thing out of place or any misplaced wall tile or carpet. But with all that effort, nothing. Not even the monomachine had any secret item or button that leads to a loose wall that's maybe a secret door like in those spy movies.

"Find anything!?" Chiari yelled across the room, which caused Yuzuru to flinch. The doctor shook his head in defeat.

 _"Upupupu!"_

"W-Who's there!?" Yuzuru said, his voice shaking in fear. He turned his head to where the sound is coming from. The monomachine was... talking? He only heard the sound for a few seconds, so he isn't absolutely sure if it's the machine was the source of this eerie voice.

"Something wrong?" Chiari asked. Yuzuru nothing and just pointed at the vending machine. The lucky student raised an eyebrow and searched the machine. There was nothing unusual about it.

"It came from inside the machine I assume," Yuzuru spoke again. Without responding, Chiari pulled out her one remaining coin from her pocket, and inserted it into the slot. She then turned the metal knob, causing the machine to rattle and shake, before a really, really tiny capsule fell to the floor, with a thunk.

The capsule was different than the other capsules. It was black in color, with a Monokuma face sticker stuck on the top lid. Chiari couldn't see what the prize was from the outside, with confetti filling up the mini capsule. She popped open the lid, and threw away the confetti like packaging peanuts, to see a little golden key with the head in the shape of a bear head, assuming to be Monokuma. The little key was the length of a thumb.

"We gotta tell everyone about this!" Chiari said with a bit of excitement in her voice. Maybe this key could lead to the thing they were looking for. Maybe nobody has to murder each other! Putting all those hopeful thoughts into her head, she quickly put the key into her pocket, and grabbed Yuzuru's hand.

Yuzuru couldn't comprehend what just happened. Maybe it's the bad intuition. First, some noises came from the Monomachine, than Chiari inserted a coin to receive a random key, and now she is pulling Yuzuru's arm and taking him to the others, who were also investigating. But considering how happy she looked, he decided not to say anything, although now his arm is in pain.

"Guys, guys, guys!" Chiari repeated happily while running to every room. Everyone exchanged confused glances. But because of her hyperactivity, they assumed she must've found something that could help them.

Shinobu was the first to question Chiari's behavior. "Why are you so excited? It better be good. We're in a desperate situation you know." Shinobu crossed her arms with impatience. Chiari had a confident grin on her face, and pulled out the golden key out of her pocket.

The equestrian and the kunoichi looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Ki stared at the key and took it from Chiari's hands, and she examined the key closely.

"So do you think this key can lead to the clue of avoiding the iceberg?" Ki asked. Chiari nodded eagerly. The lucky student's hopeful grin and her hyper movements softened the atmosphere. Naoki smiled along with her and placed his hand on Chiari's shoulder.

"Then let's work together to find it, shall we?" Naoki said to the group.

Everyone began to separate again around the lobby, looking for any kind of hidden keyhole that matches the golden Monokuma key. Sora and Shinobu searched around the main staircase, Yuzuru and Ki were checking under decoration in the lobby, while Naoki and Chiari searched in the fountain, even removing their shoes and stepping in the freezing fountain water.

"Found anything?" Chiari spoke while looking through the clear water at the floor tiles, her long white socks absorbing the cold liquid. Naoki shook his head in defeat and sighed.

"Nothing. Not even remotely a hole at all," Naoki said, and that was true. The fountain was very well made and crafted, that the tiles and cement perfectly attached to each other, no bits eroded off or any signs of aging at all.

Ki ran to the fountain, and searched around the Monokuma statue. She stopped in her tracks after circling the fountain and called over the two students wading their feet in the water. "I think you need to see this."

Chiari grew excited when Ki realized something and attempted to run to Ki's position. The slippery floor caused her to to loose control of her feet, and the lucky student fell into the cold water with a big splash, soaking her clothes. Naoki hopped out and helped her out. He grabbed her wet hand and pulled her out. Chiari giggled with embarrassment and shivered as she was pulled out of the fountain.

"Ehehe, I'm alright!" She wiped the water from her glasses, and her teeth chattered from her cold, wet clothes. "I-I guess I got too excited."

Yuzuru sighed. "You should get changed. You could get hypothermia if you stay cold and wet for too long."

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Chiari squeezed the water from her pants. "K-Ki? What d-did you find?"

Ki rolled her eyes and pointed to the side of the fountain. There was a small keyhole on the stone pedestal with the Monokuma statue, discreetly hidden in the crevasses of the fancy pedestal. Chiari shook to get rid of the water from her clothes and took out the key. She inserted the key into the hole and turned it to the right. Then they waited.

And waited...

And waited...

"Huh?" Sora took the key out of the keyhole. "Was this just a prank? Or is this a fake key?" The kunoichi looked below her to find some symbols which were really faded. They were indented as a rectangle hole. The symbols were a series of lines and dots, almost as if it is...

"Braille," The kunoichi observed. "It's a code used by the blind or visually impaired to read. Does anyone know how to read braille? Or at least have a code to translate it?"

Everyone exchanged glances in silence. Out of all the students here, Akira was the only one able to read braille. But they didn't have enough time to retrieve him, so they have to use context clues to decode the word. From observation there were seven letters, each with their own unique set of arranged dots.

But before they could attempt to decode it, they heard a crash from behind them, enough to make everyone jump in surprise. Looking behind, there were suddenly stone tiles, exactly seven of them, just like the braille on the fountain. Each tile has a letter from the Japanese (English in our case.) alphabet. From alphabetic order the letters were: a, d, e, i, p, r, and s.

"I think I know what it is," Sora said not even a minute passed. "Each one of you pick up a tile."

Chiari picked up the 'd' tile and ran over by Sora's side. The kunoichi quickly put the 'r' tile at the last slot, and almost as if it was magic, it slid in and locked in place. Seeing what she did, Chiari copied her and put the tile in the second slot, but unlike Sora's tile, instead of locking into place, it popped out and hit her stomach. Really hard.

"Owww..." Chiari groaned in pain as she clutched her stomach in pain. "What d-did I do wrong?"

"Placing the tiles is not random I assume," Ki said, standing by Chiari's side. "Do you know the word, Sora?"

Sora agreed happily to the fellow female and gestured Chiari to try again and pointed to the first slot. The lucky student's hands shook in nervousness and quickly shoved the tile in and backed away fast, tripping in the process. The tile, like Sora's tile, clicked in like a key in a keyhole.

"Is it what I think it is...?" Yuzuru turned to Naoki with concern.

The rest of the students knew what to do, and correctly placed the tiles into the right places, clicking in like pieces of a puzzle. Chiari, being slow to catch on, was confused as to how they were able to spell out the word in one go, and remained sitting on the floor from her fall. They all backed away to reveal the word, 'despair'. Sora passed the key to Shinobu, and she slid the key into the keyhole from before.

A few seconds passed, and then there was a big rumble in the lobby, as if there was an earthquake. The letter tiles sunk deep into the pedestal to reveal a hole, and the stone wall lowered revealing the staircase, letting all the water from the fountain pool to rush in. The water spewing out of the Monokuma's mouth stopped.

"Looks like we all have to go down," Naoki said, entering the staircase first without hesitation. Everyone else followed, leaving the lucky student in the dust.

"H-Hey! Don't leave me here all alone!" Chiari struggled to stand in her soaking wet clothes and ran along with them to catch up.

The staircase was dark, with only the light beaming from the lobby giving them light to see. The only sounds they could hear were echoing footsteps with the occasional splashes of water from the wet stairs.

"Ugh... At least they should lower the humidity," Shinobu complained, fidgeting with her hair to avoid it getting fizzy. "This better be worth my time."

A minute passed, and they could see a dim light, leading to a strange room. The front side of the room was a gigantic underwater window along with a control pad with buttons and levers, but it looks as though they are just for show. Bubbles, underwater fish. The left wall was filled with messy file cabinets with papers and files in a messy clutter. Everyone gazed at the room in awe and began to explore.

Chiari, feeling curious, rustled through the files. Most of the papers and files were only basic blank forms or clutters of useless notes and reminders like shopping lists and marketing papers. But before she was about to give up, Naoki raised up a file that caught his attention.

"Guys! I found something!" Naoki called out to the rest of the group. Everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed over to him, well, except Sora of course.

The paper had a picture of a picture papercliped in the top right corner of a big white building with windows everywhere. The letter read...

 _The Yamami Corp._

 _We are a company that researches the human brain and psyche._

 _We make discoveries as to what extent do humans take to keep going._

 _We experiment past events to the present to see how the human mind has changed._

 _The mind is a mystery, sanity is only a fraction as to what we know._

 _We gain -_ And the rest was faded in ink splots.

"And that's it..." Naoki sighed in disappointment. Everyone else exchanged glances.

"Did this company put us here? Why the hell would they do this to us?" Shinobu grabbed the paper in frustration.

"That might not necessarily the case," Naoki shrugged his shoulders. "We can not be absolutely sure that this exact company alone put us in here. More importantly, why did they choose us?"

Everyone remained in thought, the only sounds were the underwater waves and floating bubbles. But then everyone jumped when they heard...

"AAAAAHHHH!"

A blood curdling scream came from the second floor, which made everyone rush up the stairs at once, bumping into each other. Everyone's thoughts swirled and clashed as to what was going on. Chiari's eyes widened and she began to panic. _W-What is going on!? W-Was there another murder? Please don't let it be another murder!_

As soon as they reached up to the second floor, this is what they saw. Vonda unusually began to cry, which was really off for the actress. Sousuke and Ichirou were trying to kick down the spa door. Romeo was now back to normal, standing next to a very concerned Akira. Mami and Ayano were standing off to the side, with Ayano having an unconcerned face, and Mami with her hands shaking.

"I-It's Erik! He's locked up in the spa room!" Vonda sobbed.

Sousuke and Ichirou were eventually able to break down the door. And what they all saw was terrifying.

Erik was found in the edge of the spa room, his head tilted to the side, with a grim smile on his face. He was leaning sloppily on the wall unconscious, his hair very ruffled and messy. They couldn't see any blood at all, not even a single drop or puddle. But one things for sure...

He is no longer with them anymore. He is dead.

 _"A body has been discovered! For a certain period of time, there will be an investigation, then there will be a trial! See you there!"_

"N-N-No! I-I thought we were t-trying not to m-murder each other!" Mami said, breathing heavily. "I-I thought we were working together!"

Vonda's head looked down with sadness and regret on her face, tears were slowly falling down her face. "Erik... No, who did this?"

 _No, no, no! Why did did this happen... Why did Erik have to die..._ Chiari let the wet tears fall to the floor. "P-Please let this be a joke! Hahaha! V-Very funny g-guys!"

"How the hell is this a joke?" Shinobu glared at Chiari. "This is serious!"

"Holy-... We have to do this again?" Yuzuru said, his voice wavering.

Everyone began to panic. Once they were working together finding a way out, they relied on each other, they got along, but now, they wonder whether or not they should rely on themselves, or keep coexisting and let more murders come out like this. And now...

They have a case to solve.

* * *

 **Ohhhh! Another murder! I'm terribly sorry DeadLyokoBrony! Erik was great to have around, and I hope you keep coming back to figure out who murdered him. Leave a review about your theories as to who murdered Erik, or some sort of shitpost I don't know.**

 **And please don't bash on me for constantly killing off the siblings in this story. There IS a realistic reason as to why Erik died. Goodbye! Good luck at school/work however old or young you are!**


	22. Chapter 2-7: Investigation Time

**Now here's the investigation time! I seriously hope this is better than my failed attempt at a first** **investigation/** **trial.**

* * *

 _"A body has been discovered! For a short period of time, there will be an investigation!"_

 _"After that, there will be a trial to see who killed poor ol' Erik Sammada, the ultimate magician! Goooood luuuuck!"_

"N-No... Why did he..." Vonda stammered. Her eyes we're red from all the crying, yet she had the courage to look at Erik's body one more time. Chiari was both amazed and saddened at Vonda's persistence.

Chiari though, was balling her eyes out. Even though she's been traumatized once, no matter how many times this killing game will continue, she couldn't take the pain of loosing someone she deeply cares about. Naoki noticed Chiari, who was on her knees wiping her eyes. He went behind the crying lucky student and embraced her from behind with warm arms. Chiari's eyes widened, but she started to tear up again, and turned around to hug him back and sobbed on his chest. Naoki's expression softened and hugged her tightly.

"W-W-Why would someone do this!?" Mami screamed, breathing really heavily. "I-I thought w-we were working t-together! I-I'm think going to be sick..."

Both Naoki and Chiari looked to each other and nodded. Chiari, with wet eyes jumped (carefully) on Mami's shoulders and attempted to embrace her just like Naoki did. Mami willingly turned her away from the dead body and quickly embraced the lucky student, her face as pale as snow with a hint of blue.

"Both of you, everything is going to be alright," Naoki said, looking at the two girls hugging each other tightly out of fear. Chiari let go of Mami and wiped her tears. "Right now, we have an investigation to do!"

The actress suddenly stood up, and glared at the body. She then sharply turned to the group of students with a dangerous aura. "We better find out who the killer is. They deserve the punishment they have coming for them..." She then walked away. Everyone was absolutely baffled at Vonda's sudden change of attitude. Ki offered to look after her and ran in Vonda's direction.

"If anything bad happens, find me immediately..." Ki said seriously, and began to run.

Ichirou glanced at the body, and glared at the singer, who was really pale. "Romeo was gone for a while. I bet he was the one who killed when Erik was unaware."

"N-No! I didn't! I swear I didn't!" Romeo shook his head, scared. Akira stood by Romeo and puffed out his chest.

"Yeah. Romeo would never do such a thing. I believe him," Akira said with absolute confidence. Ichirou rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Okay. Then don't blame me if we get all killed," Ichirou said sternly. "I'm leaving. Have fun finding the wrong killer..." The journalist glanced at the nervous singer with sharp eyes and turned to the stairs leading to the first floor.

Shinobu held her hands on her hips and glared at the journalist. "Well that's three people already down. Who's next, Monokuma?"

Sora put her hand on the equestrian's shoulder. "We have to keep a level head, Kitani. Being suspicious of everyone will only create an eerie atmosphere. Let's investigate together. Is that alright with you, Kitani?"

Shinobu showed a hint of a smile and sighed, and removed Sora's hand off of her shoulder. "You do not have to call me Kitani, it feels too formal. Please, call me Shinobu... And yes, I will allow you to come with me. Just... don't bother me."

Sousuke then silenced the group and began to tell what they should do.

"A-Alright, now we have to split into groups. O-One group should keep an eye on the body, so the killer can't come back and tamper with the body again," Sousuke said, and turned to the lawyer. Naoki followed along with the archer's statement.

"Before we do that, we should read the Monokuma File, also there's something I need to ask of everyone after that," Naoki said. It looked like he was planning something. Everyone nodded and opened up their e-Handbook, again hearing that sickening eerie jingle before opening up the 'Monokuma Files' tab. On the top listed a bloody silhouette of Erik, along with his bio. But unlike Reina Hoshi's file, there were a few things missing.

Of course there was the time of death and all and the location in which the body was found, but that was all they had. No wounds were located on Erik's silhouette, and there is no cause of death. It's as if the wounds and murder weapon were a big hint to closing the case. The file was then copied and converted into a truth bullet. Naoki put the tablet back into his pocket with a disappointed face and pulled out his notes journal.

 _ **Truth Bullet Added!: Monokuma File #2**_

Erik Sammada

Cause of Death: N/A. There is no blood found on the crime scene.

The body was found in the Monokuma Spa Room on the 2nd floor.

Time of Death: 9:35 am

"Okay, I want all of you to tell me where you guys were searching at the time, this could be very important to the case," Naoki pulled out his pen and clicked the end to reveal the sharp pen tip. Yuzuru pointed at the spa room.

"I-I'll do an autopsy on the body if that's alright," Yuzuru waited for a response as he pointed at Erik's body. Naoki smiled and nodded his head, and Yuzuru walked over to the dead body.

After scribbling down a simple map of each of the rooms of the second floor, everyone in that group began to talk at once. Vonda apparently was looking outside on the deck, Ayano and Akira were searching the lounge, while Sousuke and Ichirou went into the men's restroom. Mami searched the spa room, but unfortunately, the humidity took too much out of her and she went with Ayano in the women's restroom a few minutes afterwards. Erik alone searched the ballroom.

But even though they were closest to Erik, there is also a possibility that someone from the lobby had snuck up and killed him. So Naoki flipped the page over and copied down the locations of each person in the lobby. Chiari and Yuzuru paired up to the convenience store, Shinobu searched the girls locker room, Naoki looked in the boys, Sora went into the AV/theater room, Ki went back into the cafeteria, while Romeo's location was unknown.

 _ **Truth Bullet Added!: Map of 2nd Floor**_

 _ **Truth Bullet Added!: Map of Lobby**_

"I didn't do anything suspicious, I swear!" Romeo stood up for himself. "I-I just got a little scared, and I ran and hid in the corner of my room."

Akira crossed his arms. "A little? Geez, Romeo! You need to get better at your acting!"

Everyone giggled a little for Akira trying to lighten up the mood, and went on their own separate ways to either investigate or go back to their rooms. Chiari looked down onto the floor, kicking her feet on the floor. What did Erik do wrong? He was a gentle giant, a person who cared for everyone's happiness was now gone. The lucky student was about to leave until...

"You're just going to leave? Give up?"

Chiari stumbled and turned back. Ayano was fiddling with her game console with one hand and pressed a button, which the screen yelled, "OBJECTION!"

Chiari's eyes widened, and was suddenly filled with determination. Yeah, they had to prove who is the real killer, and make sure that his death was not in vain. After all, he potentially saved all of them from a horrible death! Ayano showed a hint of a genuine smile on the corner of her mouth, and proceeded to walk down the stairs.

The lucky student walked over to the doctor, who was thoroughly checking the body for any clues, trying not to tamper with any evidence that may have been left behind. Yuzuru raised an eyebrow in confusion to what he saw. Chiari coughed in order to get his attention. Yuzuru jumped and turned over to her.

"Uhh, did you find anything?" Chiari scratched her cheek with her finger, trying to cover her face because of her red swollen eyes. Yuzuru stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out green fragments.

"I-I found these in Erik's hair," Yuzuru showed Chiari. "Besides that, the killer d-did really well on hiding the wounds. Even is they did have any, they covered then up very well... Other than that, I can't find anything. There is some hints of blunt force trauma, but it's uncertain. I-I apologize..."

"N-No! You did super well!" Chiari made a thumbs up. "I will support anything you find!"

Yuzuru made an embarrassed smile and reached out his hands to show Chiari the "green fragments" he found. They were definitely solid, that's for sure. They were extra small and grainy, so Chiari couldn't tell where it came from. But even so, this was a crucial piece of evidence that they needed in order to solve the case. Chiari snapped the picture and converted it into a truth bullet.

 _ **Truth Bullet Added!: Green Fragments**_

Chiari then decided to leave Yuzuru to investigate the body further and explore to see if there are any changes to the second floor. Maybe something is out of place, or a tile was pulled out of the floor. She took a quick gaze of the ballroom. Nothing much has changed. The buffet tables were still where they were, the chandelier was still bright with it's unrelenting light, the mop and bucket in the corner of the room. Wait... Was there a mop and bucket from before?

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

"W-What the heck!?" Chiari heard a loud, frightening scream coming from outside, and she rushed down the stairs. Her foot caught her other foot and she began to trip on her own feet. She shook her head and got back on her own two feet. She burst outside and ran along the deck, and what she saw was very gross...

There was blood spreading in the crystal blue pool water, causing it to turn into a faded pink. Right next to the pool was Shinobu, who looked like she was going to faint but tried to hold on, and Sora was holding on to the equestian's shoulders to prevent her from falling back. Sousuke and Ayano also went to check out what that scream was, and Chiari was not surprised at their horrific reactions.

"W-What? What happened here!?" Sousuke's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"Ugh... Disgusting..." Ayano tried not to gag from the bloody, metallic smell coming from the bloody pool. Out of all the things, a smelly, bloody pool is what got her to react, but Chiari knew Ayano couldn't help but look away.

"Whoever has done this must be sick in their minds..." Sora grimaced. "I assume a disgusting male would be the only one to do this..." Which cause the kunoichi to receive a glare from Sousuke.

Chiari covered her mouth to avoid throwing up. "Uggghhh... I need a macaron to compensate for this... I don't like the bloody smell, take it awaaayy..."

"Do you really think we can do that r-right now...?" Shinobu said weakly, moaning. "Y-You can't just take a smell away..."

But a bloody pool was indeed suspicious. Why was there blood here when the dead body was all the way up in the second floor? Chiari, from what she could tell, nobody went outside when they were out searching... Right? Just in case, Chiari pinched the bridge of her nose and snapped a picture of the... gruesome sight.

 ** _Truth Bullet Added!: Bloody Pool Water_**

Seconds after taking a picture, Monokuma appeared, jumping out of the pool with wet, dripping fur. "Peee yew! What is that unbeaaarable smell!?"

"AAAAH! Monokuma! R-Run for your lives!" Chiari panicked and turned her back away from the demented bear to run away, but Sousuke caught up to her and grabbed her hoodie, causing her to slide and fall.

"S-Sorry!" Sousuke apologized frantically. "It's alright, Chiari! Monokuma was just saying he was going to clean the pool!" Chiari brushed off her pants and giggled, and apologized for overreacting. After their last encounter with the bear, she's been getting a bit paranoid.

"Thaaaat's right! I can't have my fellow students die because of this disgusting smell!" Monokuma said. Monomi followed behind him and slapped him in the face with her soft paws.

"That is something you would do though, you meanie!" Monomi scolded Monokuma, who just continued to smirk. The rabbit realized her mistake and sprinted away, as fast as her little legs could go with Monokuma chasing after her with steam coming out of his ears. The lucky student felt really bad for Monomi. She wanted to protect the rabbit and keep her in her room, but that's not the thing Chiari should worry about at the moment. She could talk to Monomi whenever she wanted, so she put that aside and continued with her blind investigation without the help of Naoki.

"Chiari!"

As the lucky student went inside the lobby, she saw the ultimate patient clumsily walked down the stairs, with her IV tightly clutched in her left hand and the other holding onto the railing. Her expression was frantic as if there was something important she had to say. "I-I think I found something i-important!"

Chiari rushed to her and offered her shoulder for Mami to lean on, which she gladly accepted and both walked up to the ballroom. Mami used her shaky finger to point at a little trash can hidden inside of one of the old bar cupboard. Chiari opened the door to find it surprisingly completely full of empty bottles. And on top of that, there were the same little green fragments from Erik's hair were scattered all over in the bin. Her eyes widened.

"I-I wanted to help you guys s-search, and I opened the c-cabinet to find this. I-I hope this helps with the case," Mami said. Chiari put a smile on her face and beamed at the patient.

"Yeah! I saw some of these things at the crime scene. This will totally help!" Chiari grinned and pulled out her tablet to take a picture.

 _ **Truth Bullet Added!: Bottle Filled Trash Can**_

...

"I want to help!"

Chiari and Mami jumped from the sudden statement and turned around in unison. Akira was standing there, puffing his chest out in confidence. The lucky student raised her eyebrow in utter confusion, and the sculptor began to explain his reason for his abrupt appearance.

"Well, duh! Romeo is being framed for being the killer! I have to prove that he isn't!" Akira said. "He's a friend, and I believe in him!"

Mami giggled. "O-Of course. We don't mind. A-Although p-please don't g-get overboard." She said cautiously.

Akira had a cheeky grin on his face. "Alright! Let's look at the crime first! That how investigations normally start right?"

The lucky student reluctantly laughed. "Yuzuru already searched and did an autopsy on the body. Should've told you that first. Ehehe, whoopsie!"

The sculptor pouted and crossed his arms, holding on to his cane. "Well, he's the ultimate doctor! I'm pretty sure he didn't look at anything else other than the body. Maybe there's something other than the body in this room that gives us at least more clues or anything at all! Come on!"

Akira ran to the spa room, with Chiari and Mami following behind. Akira, being a bit too headstrong, rushed into the room, only to trip on the spa door that was on the ground and fall stomach first onto the lying door. Chiari panicked and grabbed Akira's hand and strongly pulled him up, only to have gravity pull the other way around and Chiari fell backwards with Akira falling on top of her.

"Oooowwwwie... It huurts..." Chiari whined from tripping. Akira rolled off of the lucky student's body and rubbed his head both in confusion and the throbbing pain. There wasn't something there before. Because he was blind, he couldn't tell what he tripped on, and asked Mami to explain it to him. Mami says that it was the broken down spa door that was knocked down to reach Erik's body.

"But why did they even need to knock it down? Couldn't they just, oh I don't know... Open it like a normal human being?" Akira joked, which made Chiari snort.

"The door was s-stuck. T-They couldn't open it w-without breaking it o-open..." Mami responded shyly. Chiari knew about the secret to properly opening the door, but knowing that most of the group didn't know how, that probably narrows down the suspects greatly. Or did it?

 _ **Truth Bullet Added!: Spa Door**_

"Haha! I've found something useful!" Akira placed his fist on his chest, laughing in a noble tone. Chiari remained in a snow angel form on the floor, laughing to herself. Mami, however was frantic but couldn't bend over to lend a hand due to her weak body. The lucky student brushed off her clothes and exhaled deeply from laughing. Akira seemed to have lightened the mood a bit, but it doesn't hide the desperate situation they're in.

"B-By the way, A-Akira, did you witness anything when i-investigating?" Mami had a question wandering in her mind. "W-When I went to the spa room, I-I took a quick l-look at the spa... A-And I didn't see anything when I-I moved to the bathroom. S-Sorry for asking..."

"No! It's cool!" Akira played it off smoothly. "But I'm blind, so is that alright?"

"Everything counts!" Chiari said.

But before Akira could get a sentence or even a word out of his mouth, the monitor in the ballroom turned on, revealing Monokuma with his drink in his left paw, and a mortified Monomi tied up in ropes in the far right corner, trembling.

"Tiiiime's up! Now, please proceed to main lobby, where the trial will begin! Have fuuun!" Monokuma stopped before adding, "And don't die!"

"Damn it! Already!?" Akira complained in frustration. "We just started!" He then sighed in disappointment.

The television shuts off automatically, a black screen remaining. They didn't have to say a word, and they all followed each other in unison to the stairs down to the trial room doors.

* * *

The ultimate patient was weak physically, but she could sense a gloomy aura coming from the lucky student, who was rubbing her right arm with her other hand. While Akira was helping Mami down the stairs, her face a bit flustered by a guy grabbing her hand, she spoke up to Chiari.

"A-Are you alright?" Mami asked, causing Chiari to flinch. "I-I mean, y-you were suddenly fine with e-everything once we got into the i-investigation. But y-you don't look fine right n-now."

"Oh! Do I look that upset? My bad!" Chiari giggled, scratching the back of her head. "I-I'm just thinking over things is all! But we're all going to work together as friends and find the meanie who did this to Erik! Got it!?"

"Hell yeah!" Akira agreed. Mami peered at the brunette in suspicion. _Is she really alright?_

...

...

 _I'm not alright._

 _Haha! I mean, three friends died!_

 _Three less friends to escape the cruise with! This is just the worst possible situation I could ever be with._

 _I wanna go outside and play! Hang out, get along! With all 15 of my friends!_

 _Please... Let me escape this pain._

 _..._

 _No! Just a little longer! Keep smiling! Keep the group together! Help everyone get along!_

 _T_ _hat way, we'll all escape together!_

 _...Please..._

* * *

"Is everyone here? We can't have anyone left out," Sora asked sternly.

"Yes. This is everyone," Ki replied, counting with her finger. Her pointer finger stopped at Vonda, who was staring down at the floor, with her face masked by a shadow. Ki lowered her arm and looked at the actress in concern.

"A-Are you alright, Vonda?" Sousuke asked. "I assure you, we'll find Erik's killer, okay?"

Vonda remained silent. Anger and sadness showed on her expression. Sousuke sighed, seeing that he could push it further since the actress was a pretty stubborn person. Both the alchemist and the archer exchanged glances, and shrugged their shoulders. Shinobu crossed her arms and tapped her pinkie on her elbow in impatience, seeing this eerie, despairful atmosphere.

"Come on, everyone! Erik is dead. We can't change that fact!" Shinobu raised her voice, but not too loud like a screaming level. Everyone jumped and turned their heads to her. Sora placed her fingers in a 'V' shape form on her chin.

"Kita- Sorry... Shinobu is right. We can't just stand here mourning over that degenerate's death, not meaning to be offensive here," The kunoichi's eyes had a piercing glare. Everyone's eyes widened. They were about to have a trial over it, and they're just sitting here mourning over it? But the way she worded it was a bit... harsh. Nevertheless, they got the message.

"Let's just go already. It's getting boring in here," Ayano walked past the other students and was the first to go inside the elevator. Chiari followed and chased her inside, and the rest followed. Ichirou went inside last, with a grim look on his face. Romeo nervously giggled right next to him and twirled his thumbs.

"Don't worry! We'll be fine!" Chiari beamed at Vonda. "Erik is doing fine in heaven with Reina and Rei! We'll make sure his death isn't in vain!"

Vonda kept staring at the floor, but the corners of her mouth rose, forming a bittersweet smile on her face. Naoki then asked Chiari to transfer the evidence data/truth ammunitions from her e-Handbook to his. As they pressed their tablets together to begin the data transfer, Naoki looked up and noticed that Chiari's face grew a bit pale, and her mouth was wavering from a smile, to a despairful frown. Naoki opened his mouth to say something, but before he could the elevator doors opened, revealing that the trial room.

The trial dome appears to be very different. Instead of the normal fishes and the blue ocean water, it looked like a mansion. Red striped wallpaper was covering the dome walls along with dark oak wooden flooring, a lit, fancy fireplace which is protected by a flimsy iron fence, and a chandelier on the center of the ceiling with lit up candles. Further down, instead of the usual Monokuma throne, there was a stage with a red velvet curtain. It was lined with party streamers and magician hats were scattered around. In the center of the stage was a throne with a card design (Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds) along with a small, rusty throne next to it where Monomi was tied up.

"Monomi!" Chiari's face paled even more. "What happened to you!?"

"Waah! I'm sorryyyyy!" Monomi whimpered. "Monokuma caught up to what I was doing and caught me!"

Before the lucky student could sprint over to the helpless rabbit, Monokuma popped up and intervened. He formed an 'X' with his little arms.

"No, no, no! Interfering is not allowed!" Monokuma scolded Chiari. The lucky student backed off and ran to her stand. Everyone then noticed that there was Erik portrait in place of himself on his stand, with iconic magic wands forming a cross, painted with blood on his face. Vonda tried to avoid looking at that as much as possible.

Romeo hesitantly stepped on his assigned stand, receiving a glare from the journalist. The singer swept back his hair, but the journalist interrupted the silence in the room before anyone could say anything else.

"Romeo is the culprit."

"What the hell man!?"

* * *

 **Sorry for such a short, unorganized chapter! I've been extremely busy the past few weeks, along with the complexity of making a murder mystery case. If it feels rushed, I'm really sorry.**

 **But based on the evidence, who do you think is the killer?**

 **P.S. Yes, I hid the cause of death, but it is REALLY obvious what the murder weapon is. Please I promise it'll make sense later. XD**


	23. Chapter 2-8: The Second Trial (Part One)

**Hi people! I'm sorry if there are any gaps or holes in any part of the trial. I've been extremely tired from lack of sleep and it's making my brain unresponsive. School am I right?**

 **Also, I deeply apologize for the long unannounced hiatus. I really needed a break from writing for a while. Firstly, I've had a cold, and I felt like absolute shit those past few days. I've also been distracted by my gaming side and being so overloaded with Overwatch, and Cuphead! BEPPI THE GODDAMN CLOWN I WILL SLAY YOU. Ahem, anyways I really needed to take some time off of fanfiction and focus on my personal life.**

 **Anyways, shoutout to Jeptwin who seems to have figured out the killer! Let's see if your predictions are correct!**

* * *

 **All Truth Bullets:**

 _ **Monokuma File #2**_

 _ **Map of 2nd Floor**_

 _ **Map of Lobby**_

 _ **Green Fragments**_

 _ **Bloody Pool Water**_

 _ **Bottle Filled Trash Can**_

 _ **Spa Door**_

"All the evidence points to him. Isn't it obvious?" Ichirou twirled his pencil as he stepped onto his stand. "He was alone at the time of the murder, he had some sort of motive, which his fear of thunder, AND he could've snuck up to the second floor to kill Erik in the spa room! Simple."

Everyone stared at Ichirou, wide-eyed and in disbelief. For Ichirou to pin the blame on someone on a murder, it was somewhat expected but shocking. Right at Romeo's defense, Akira stomped his foot down in anger.

"Hey! I'm not just saying this just because Romeo is my bro, but he killed no one!" Akira stated with no fear in his voice. "And just because I'm blind, doesn't mean my sense of judgement is off!"

The journalist rolled his eyes. Chiari stepped into he own podium and the rest followed.

"C'mon guys!" Chiari put on her best smile and clenched her fists together, attempting enthusiasm. "We have to get along and find the culprit for Vonda's sake! Ichirou, be nice! We don't want fighting going on during a trial or we'll get to god knows where!"

 _Why are you playing the mediator?_ Ichirou thought. As the last person stepped onto their podium. Monokuma dragged Monomi along with him to his throne on the center of the stage. He pulled out his gavel and began his speech.

"Now, now settle down everyone!" Monokuma said menacingly. "We debate after I go through the rules, just in case everyone forgot! Now, everyone, obviously has to debate who the blackened, aka the culprit is using the current evidence you have! After a certain period of time, all of you will decide who the murderer is! If you all guess wrong, the rest of you will perish and the blackened will escape! But if you guess right, then the blackened dies and the rest of you will continue your lives in this cruise! Have fun!~"

Romeo tried to keep calm and composed, slicking back his hair continuously in nervous habit. "Now, I know you all think I killed Erik, but come on! Do you think a handsome guy like me would kill someone?"

Chiari nodded. "E-Exactly! I'm just saying this! Romeo wouldn't hurt a fly! It's obvious!"

"Obvious?" Ichirou tapped his foot in annoyance. "Do you have any logical evidence to back that up? Any alibis? Anything that can prove his innocence?"

 **Romeo's Testimony Examination: Begin!**

Romeo sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll tell you guys everything!"

 _"A-After the lightening strike and the thunder. I got a little scared, just a little! I dashed out of the cafeteria and **immediately ran to the nearest room I could see, the A/V theater room.**_ _I ran to the back of the stage and **hid in the closet full of costumes.** **I stayed there until I heard a scream** on the second floor and **rushed up the stairs, meeting with Akira afterwards.** Vonda was panicked and the others beat down the door."_

 **Investigate!: Choose which part to investigate!**

 _ **Immediately ran to the nearest room I could see, the A/V theater room. [ Investigate!]**_

"Immediately? As in right after you exited the cafeteria?" Naoki asked Romeo to specify.

"That's what the 'immediately is for isn't it?" Romeo joked in a nervous tone. Chiari covered to mouth with her hand to avoid any giggles but had a wide smile underneath while the others rolled their eyes.

"Let's just continue... This is getting boring," Ayano said.

"I-I agree... not with the boring part," Mami said, then added.

 ** _Hid in the closet full of costumes. I stayed there until I heard a scream._** _ **[ Map of Lobby: Refute!]**_

 _HANG ON!_

"But Sora was the one checking the room though," Sousuke pointed out. "If she were searching the A/V room she would have certainly found you and taken you out."

Sora shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, I was more focused on searching the main room instead of the stage. And before I even got the time to, Chiari alerted us and I left."

"...But..." Ki hesitated before speaking. "Since Sora didn't check the closet, we can't exactly prove that his statement is true." After speaking, she gave Romeo an apologetic glance and turned back. Everyone stood in silence, with only sniffles and coughs breaking the silence.

"C'mon! Let's talk about that later!" Akira stomped his cane. "Let's focus on the crime scene first!"

"A-Akira's right!" Romeo said with relief. "We can't d-deduce a culprit without checking the crime scene!"

Shinobu groaned and nodded. "I hate to say this, but I agree." She glanced over to Chiari and Naoki. "You two gathered evidence from the scene of the crime didn't you? Present it. Maybe a murder weapon perhaps?"

"I-I could help with that," Yuzuru spoke. He took out his tablet and projected a picture of what seemed to be green fragments. "There was hints of head trauma, but whether it was from a blunt object or something else I-I can't deduce. The only thing I could find was these green fragments in his hair."

"Ugh, you really took the time to search his hair?" Shinobu gagged in disgust, only to receive an angry Vonda staring daggers at her. The equestrian flinched and discreetly apologized.

Sousuke smiled. "That was really helpful, thanks." Yuzuru nodded happily in response.

"Now what could have green fragments?" Chiari said while deep in thought. "Maybe some sort of glass?"

"T-That could be a p-possibility," Mami replied. "B-But where could the fragments c-come from? I-I can't think of anything."

 _ **Make your Argument!**_

 **Romeo:** Maybe from some sort of stained glass window?

 **Ayano:** Not possible... There's no stained glass windows anywhere on this cruise dumbass...

 **Romeo:** You take that back!

 **Sora:** Judging by the head injury, I assume it has to be some sort of object rather than a window since there's no wall with green glass.

 **Sora:** Maybe a glass or bottle? _**[Agreement: Green Fragments]**_

 _I didn't think of that!_

"Yeah! A bottle!" Chiari realized. "There's an old bar on the second floor! Remember at our truth or dare thing you guys brought over the alcohol from there?"

"Yeah! That was crazy!" Akira bursted out laughing.

Naoki's eyes widened. "So if that is true, I think I know why they kept that a secret on the file. Since the old bar is located in the ballroom, that narrows down the suspects greatly."

"So I'm a suspect now huh...?" Vonda looked down at her feet. "I guess that makes sense."

"Along with Ki, myself, Shinobu, Sora, Romeo, and possibly Mami," Naoki pointed out. "Mami, at around what time did you supposedly leave the spa room?"

"A-About five minutes after the search started," Mami blushed in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. Humidity and hot temperatures are not for m-me."

"I can back up Mami's statement," Ayano sighed, the sound effects from her game console vibrates throughout the room. "It doesn't match up with the time of death, so we can safely assume that she's not a suspect. That's my contribution, you're on your own now..." She stretched and yawned in boredom. Chiari marched over to her stand and snatched her console out of her hands. Ayano angrily grumbled. "Fuck you..."

Naoki clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Now that we have that covered, we'll go back to Romeo's statement later and figure out how the criminal played out the crime, which is the most important part of any trial."

Sora crossed her arms. "What we have learned so far is that Erik was hit with a glass bottle, which is certainly enough to kill someone like him. We just have to figure out how the criminal had the time to clean up before everyone met up. And how Erik ended up in the spa room considering that Mami didn't witness it."

Mami fiddled with her bandaged fingers. "I-I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Chiari laughed. "So does anyone have any idea how?" Everyone exchanged confused glances in silence. "U-Um... Anyone? No? Well then we'll just have to go from scratch then!"

"From scratch!?" Sousuke asked in surprise. "H-How is that going to help!?"

Ichirou sighed in frustration. "Exactly. It's going to get us nowhere. Do have a lead or at least some evidence?"

"W-Well, I don't know!" Chiari raised her hands in a defensive position. "But we're just going to have to try! Was there anything in the second floor that was suspicious whatsoever?"

Sora glanced at Shinobu. "Me and K-, Shinobu has seen something strange as a matter of fact. Only I, her, Chiari and Sousuke and Ayano has seen it though. The outdoor pool was filled with faded blood. I assume it's where the killer dumped the evidence and the blood to."

"It was disgusting. You wouldn't want to see it," Shinobu felt sick from thinking of the scene. "I just wonder how it even got there!"

"Hmm, because the body was in the second floor and the pool is way off the murder location, I can guess that the blood and evidence is collected somehow and transported outside, which can confirm our suspects because of their lack of alibis," Naoki predicted, shocking the suspects.

"Oh, I'm screwed aren't I?" Romeo said in defeat. Akira gritted his teeth in anger and silence.

Vonda sighed grimly, yet calmly said, "Then what was the thing that transported the evidence then?"

 _Something that could've transported the blood to the pool... Something that could've transported..._

 **Hangman's Gambit!**

M O P A N D B U C K E T

MOP AND BUCKET

 _Now it's clear!_

 _BREAK!_

"Wait, wait, wait! I have something! I have something!" Chiari said in realization.

"Say it, don't spray it..." Ayano sighed. Chiari rolled her eyes.

"I saw something when I was running down the stairs to the pool," Chiari continued. "I think it was a bucket and... mop?" she said with uncertainty. Everyone stared at her in pure disbelief while the lucky student stared at them in confusion.

"What?" Chiari asked.

"You could've told us that earlier..." Ichirou sighed, holding his head from a non-existent headache.

"But it does prove something," Naoki said. "Whoever our culprit is, took the bucket and mop from the second floor, located some water somehow for the mop and was able to clean up the blood and sneak to the pool and dumped the water there. Because they had so little time, it makes sense that the culprit sloppily cleaned up the crime scene."

"B-But there is one thing t-that is bothering m-me," Mami hesitated. "H-How was the culprit able to c-clean up the blood w-with no water? I-I don't know if you can without water, b-but could someone c-clear that up for me please?"

"Well she does have a point... Just getting a dry mop itself will not absorb the blood into the mop..." Ki spoke in a low voice, constantly giving worried glances to the actress.

Chiari scratched her chin. She hadn't thought about that. As she pushed up her glasses she began to think about the possibilities. They got the water from the restroom? No Mami, Ayano, Sousuke and Ichirou were in the restrooms. The pool? No! That would take too much time to run down the stairs and back up. Besides that would cause a commotion if they did! She scrambled all the thoughts in her brain and fiddled with her hair bun.

"Agh! I don't know!" Chiari cried. "Don't expect me to know everything I'm not that smart! I've mistaken flour and sugar before how am I supposed to know!?"

"Calm down and think... You're overreacting." Naoki sighed. "Did you find anything that contained water in the second floor? Or at least something that used to _contain_ water?"

 _Think think think! What could've the killer used as water for the mop!?_

 _ **Choose!**_

 **Green Fragments**

 **Bloody Pool Water**

 **Bottle Filled Trash Can**

 _I got it!_

"Wait wait, the bottle filled trash can!" Chiari smiled in embarrassment and jokingly hit her head. "Whoops... Sorry forgot about that!"

 _"Oh my fucking god..."_

"Ahem. Mami was with me when we found the trash can remember!?" Chiari glanced proudly at Mami's direction, who nervously nodded. "There must've been some water bottles somewhere, probably from the old bar or the kitchen!"

Ichirou crossed his arms. Chiari noticed the journalist's attitude and pouted. "What? is my logic flawed?"

"There are multiple places in which the water bottles could have come from," Ichirou explained. "They could've came from the kitchen or the convenience store, or maybe in the lounge in the second floor who knows? We can already rule the last two since there were two people in both the lounge and the store, so the only places that can possibly contain bottles are the kitchen or the old bar. Only stupid people could not realize that!"

Chiari wanted to argue, but she knew that fighting would go nowhere, and even she had a sense of control despite her stubborn attitude. So she puffed out her cheeks in anger to avoid saying anything stupid. Some of the more... less kind students snickered at her immaturity. She puffed out the hot air from her cheeks and continued talking.

"Well, that puts Ki into more of a spotlight doesn't it?" She asked.

Ki flinched at the sound of her name and rubbed her arm. "I guess that does make sense."

"W-Well, we have to consider it," Romeo said.

"You're just saying that cause you don't want to be caught," Ayano sneered, playing with her phone. "This is boring... Can we talk about something else?"

"I guess we have no choice..." Shinobu sighed while staring at the ceiling. "We can't play a game of cat and mouse just to find some dumb water bottles' origin story."

"Man... We're just going in circles! We're never going to prove Romeo's innocence!" Akira said in frustration.

Suddenly from a silent trial room, turned into pandemonium. Noises of either arguing or confusion echoed throughout the dome. Chiari was no different. She was confused on what to do next. Everything they solve just ends up with starting a new question. They couldn't just keep doing this or else Monokuma would just end the trial right then and there. She couldn't let that happen though! They still have memories to make on this cruise, and that wouldn't happen as long as she was here! She filled up her lungs and yelled as loudly as she possibly could.

"SHUT UUUP!" She said, making everyone, including Ayano to jump and look at her direction. "WE HAVE TO- ahem. Get along! We're not going to get anywhere if we argue! Now we're all going to take a deep breath and continue! Alright!?"

Everyone stared at her in silence. Her face suddenly turned red hot, from all the attention she was receiving. "W-Well, we now know how the killer was able to clean up his or her crime, water bottles aside. We need to figure out how Erik was in the spa room!"

Naoki cleared his throat after the surprise and replied to Chiari. "Y-Yes. It is possible to drag him there, despite his, ahem... weight. But there is one thing that I realize. Not everyone knows how to open the spa door I just realized, since there is actually a secret method to open it. Does anyone remember the groups that explored which part?"

Sousuke raised his hand. "I have the list." He reached for his pocket and rummaged through his pocket. He took out a crumpled piece of notebook paper that looked like it has seen better days. He opened the paper and flattened out the note to make it less crumpled and more legible. He skimmed his finger through the notes he wrote and stopped at the middle.

"Right here!" Sousuke said almost a bit too enthusiastically. "It says Chiari, Ki, Vonda and Erik, and Sousuke. They were the ones that explored that region. Mami could open the door as well because Vonda apparently told her how."

Mami nodded to confirm that statement. "Y-Yes. Vonda taught me the way. You n-need to push or pull the door to get the d-doors unstuck then slide the doors o-open."

Monomi nodded cheerfully. "That's correct! I told them so!" Monokuma knocked the rabbit on the head to keep her quiet.

"Soorrry about that this little rascal of a sister is getting annoying. But just as she said! There's a method to open the spa door! But only the little few could! Hmm... I wonder!?" Monokuma sneered, while Monomi whimpered in pain.

"S-So that means that that... unfortunately narrow down the suspects. Unless Sousuke or Chiari, no offence, had a tiny window of opportunity to murder Erik, are Ki... and Vonda." Yuzuru hesitated on saying the actress' name.

"So does that mean I'm in the clear?" Romeo asked.

"Not exactly... You could've accidentally found the method yourself," Sora said in a cynical attitude. "Only someone like you could slyly do something like that."

Romeo clenched his fists. "What do you mean someone like me!?"

* * *

I could feel the tension and fear building up in me. I don't know why... I don't know why!?

Why am I feeling this!?

I've felt like this since the beginning of the trial. It's a feeling I have never felt before. Something like a type a saddness and guilt. Something like...

Despair.

It's been building up more and more until I couldn't take it anymore. I can't remove this guilt!

I eventually reached my breaking point until I yelled with all my might, straining my lungs...

 _"I am the culprit! Punish me!_ "

After I got that off my chest, everyone stopped talking and stared wide eyed at me, and I could already tell why. Silence filled around me, and I glanced at Monokuma, who had a shit eating grin on his face. This continued until someone broke the silence.

"K-Ki? It's you!?" Chiari said in shock.

* * *

 **Oh my god I'm so sorry for being so late! Honestly, I have no excuses.**

 **School has been my first priority for a while now, plus taking a break from the Danganronpa fandom. But now I'm back! I'm sorry if this trial chapter is rushed, since I wanted to give something out to you guys as soon as possible. So things might be a mess here and there, but I hope I got things right.**

 **Now for a question:**

 **Do you think Ki really is the culprit? Now, just because she was accused now doesn't mean she IS the culprit, but she is a big suspect.**

 **Happy killing! (And sorry!)**


	24. Chapter 2-8: The Second Trial (Part Two)

**Hello everyone! I know you hate me for the long hiatus, but I'm here and that's all that matters. Enjoy this disjointed chapter.**

* * *

"I-I did it. I killed him," Ki repeated quietly. The actress shot up and sharply turned her head to the alchemist in shock.

"V-Vhat are you doing?" Vonda's eyes widened but tried her best to remain calm from the shock.

"Vhat? Your German accent is showing!" Akira pointed out. Vonda covered her mouth and narrowed her eyed at him.

Chiari slammed her stand with her fist. "Stop it Ki! You don't have to do this to yourself! W-We can figure out the real culprit! Y-You don't have to accuse yourself dammit!"

"Chiari! C-Calm down please!" Mami panicked. Chiari wiped the incoming tears from her eyes and gave an assuring, wavering smile, telling her that she's alright.

"Ehehe. Sorry…" Chiari said. She turned back to Ki. "A-Are you sure about this? W-We could figure out this together!"

Ki shook her head hesitantly. "N-No. I'm the culprit. And I can tell you exactly how I did it." She cleared her throat.

"F-From cafeteria..." Ki stammered, forgetting some words. "I went up to 2nd floor... And grabbed a bottle from the old bar, a-and hit him in the head. He didn't see it coming... A-And no noise besides the crash of bottle was made. Silent and quick... I-I quietly ran downstairs and grabbed water bottles from kitchen a-and used that to clean up the blood. I-I was able to move his body and opened and closed the door using the technique. I-I then went back to meet the others..."

Naoki crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "That sounds like a pretty solid investigation. Everything seems to fit into the crime scene."

Everyone stared at Ki in surprise and sadness. The despairful look on her face and the dull look in her eyes. Either Ki really was the culprit, or she was playing an act, and it didn't seem like she was acting at all. Chiari couldn't help but have tears well up in her eyes again. She was a crybaby, but she couldn't help but sympathize for the alchemist. She couldn't believe that she would kill anybody! Sure she was a strange individual, but she was as if she was a part of the family.

It's all over. Ki was going to get executed.

"Okay! Are we done here! It's getting booooring!" Monokuma said with a fake yawn. "Are we ready to vote now! Well, I'm not waiting for your answers cause it's voting tiiime!"

The screens on their stands lit up to show every student, even the dead ones. Chiari's hand was shaking as she slowly moves closer to Ki's icon. Everyone else glanced at each other, also hesitant to vote. Ichirou, Ayano, and Sora, however, refused to even look at the screen.

"I'm not doing it... It's just a poor excuse for Monokuma to have some fun watching us like this," Ayano rolled her eyes as if this was obvious. Chiari snapped awake at Ayano's statement.

Sora glared daggers at the bear. "I agree. We're not falling for your tricks. You seemed awfully rushed when pressuring us to vote."

Ichirou disgustingly stared at the screen. "I can't believe all of you fall for Monokuma's shenanigans unlike me. But I still believe that Romeo is the killer."

"Hey!"

Ki's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-Why? I admit! I admit! Vote m-me!" She backed up and hit the back wall. "I-I... told everything! E-Everything I said was right!"

 **Make Your Argument!**

 _ **Map of 2nd Floor**_

 _ **Monokuma File #2**_

 _ **Spa Door**_

 _Ki: Didn't you listen? I **hit Erik in the h-head without him noticing** ,_

 _cleaned up the evidence and ran to the pool and **dumped the blood into the pool.**_

 _I dragged him to the spa room and **closed d-door!** _

_Why won't you listen to me!?_

 ** _Map of 2nd Floor-Dumped the blood into the pool._**

 _Something isn't right!_

"W-Wait! Something's off!" Chiari grabbed Ki's hand and stared directly into her eyes. "You're lying aren't you?"

"W-What?" Ki flinched.

"Naoki drew a map of the second floor!" Chiari pulled out the note of the scribbled down map. "And Vonda was on the balcony! Weren't you!?" She dramatically pointed at the actress, who nodded nervously. "If she was on the balcony outside, she would have said something about you! Plus, she would've heard the crash from the ballroom since she was the nearest person! Right? I-I'm right... right?"

"...Vonda. Either you're hiding something or you're the killer yourself. You can't lie..." Naoki said, causing Vonda to sweat. "But if you saw Ki or not, you have to tell us."

The actress breathed out and answered calmly. "Maybe I haven't seen her and was busy investigating."

"You couldn't have possibly ignored a splash in the pool and running footsteps thinking, 'oh, everything must be fine!'" Shinobu snapped at Vonda.

Mami jumped and hid behind her stand. "P-Please calm down, Shinobu. W-We're not here to fight!" Chiari nodded along.

Vonda glanced at Ki nervously, who was looking back as nervous as ever. Chiari turned around to see the actress' face in both anger and distress. Why wasn't she just saying that she was distracted or that she had a valid excuse? It was as easy as pie to get out of this situation with a simple lie, yet Vonda remained quiet, exchanging looks with the alchemist.

"Ha... haha..." Vonda chuckled grimly to herself. "Hahahaha! You guys zink I'm zee culprit ja!? Ki admitted it! I zink you guys are pushing it too far!"

Ki shook her head. "S-Stop it, Vonda. I think I pushed it too far..."

"So you ARE the culprit! People who go insane are usually suspicious!" Akira said with confidence. Romeo sighed and shook his head.

"But we don't know that y-yet," Yuzuru interrupted. "Now we don't know if Vonda simply didn't hear anything, or she is involved somehow..."

"If Ki was the culprit... If she were to give a blow to the head to that dege-Erik, Vonda would have clearly heard and seen her doing it since the doors are clearly glass. As well as the disposing of the evidence. And I suppose this actress would like to explain how she ignored all of that?" Sora gestured for the actress to explain with a dark look on her face. Normally she only does that to males, but her eyes didn't escape any lie that Vonda sputtered.

"How are you escaping now, dumbass...?" Ayano muttered, only to get a hit in the head by the lucky student.

"Oww!"

Chiari began to scold the broker. "Aya-p! You know we aren't going to-,"

"S-Stop. I'm the culprit. Vote for me," Ki said. "You're right, Vonda would've heard the smashing bottle. She would've heard about the evidence being disposed of. Vonda was covering it up..."

"...What?" Vonda asked with a wavering voice. "You're not exposing us are you?"

"As I hit Erik in the head with no interruptions, Vonda saw and ran over to stop me, but it was too late. Her brother was dead. She wanted to kill me, but we knew that we'd be caught and that fighting wouldn't solve anything," Ki explained. "So we had to do what was done..."

"...That was the corniest shit I ever heard," Ichirou said.

"Ichi!" Akira yelled.

Everyone turned to Vonda to see is this is true. But all Vonda did was fidget with her hair and avoided eye-contact with the curious students. Her eyes began to dart around the room looking for an escape, but there wasn't any, much to the actress' dismay and Monokuma's pleasure. It felt like she was being cornered into a wall, with no escape.

"Ahem..." Vonda put up an act of confidence. "Now, we've all come to a conclusion, da? Can we end now?"

"No. Something isn't right..." Sousuke interrupted. "This is going a bit too smoothly, don't you think? A-And considering that Ki admitted it so easily and Vonda agreeing to her every word desperately, doesn't seem right..."

Ayano rested her head on her hand. "I'm shocked that you would come to that conclusion. Way to go genius," she said sarcastically. "And don't think you're off the hook partners in crime. You know, in a case like this, when two suspects go off of what they're saying it usually means you two fucked up." Ki began to sweat down her back.

Chiari patted the information broker's head as if she was a dog. "Now good going, Aya-p! You learn a lot from those games, don't you? You've redeemed yourself!"

Mami giggled in a low voice. "Ehehe. C-Chiari you're embarrassing her!" she said as Ayano stared daggers at Mami, who stopped laughing immediately and looked down at the floor in apology.

"You just loooove to treat me like your pet, don't you?" Ayano slapped Chiari's hand off of her head in anger. She gave the lucky student a sadistic look and she backed off. "Get near me again, and you're fucked."

But Ayano and Sousuke are right. These two were suspiciously getting along too well. After all the arguing and uncomfortable moments they had the past few days, for them to back off each other isn't right. Chiari wondered how she was going to be able to get one of them to confess. Vonda could easily pull an act of confession, and Ki would back off of her like a robot following orders.

Monokuma tapped his finger, er, claw impatiently on the armrest of his throne. "I'm bored! Can we start the vote NOW?"

"Be quiet! These poor kids need time!" Monomi said in her nasally voice, only to receive a smack from the bear.

Mami sighed. "I-I guess we have to choice BUT to vote," she said with the aura from her gleaming black eyes starting to fade away. "W-We can't force them to talk, a-and they have a solid testimony... I-I'm sorry, Chiari, but that's w-what I feel."

Chiari understood and nodded. She forced a cheerful smile. "I-It's fine! W-We can work this out! W-We-."

"Don't," Naoki said. "You don't have to force yourself to stay positive for the group, we know you're suffering just as much."

Sora glared and shook her head at Mami and Chiari. "They're lying, I can tell from their facial expressions and how much they're fidgeting." Vonda broke character and gripped her stand in anger.

"We are telling the truth! Ki killed Erik, I covered it up! We're not lying!" Vonda yelled. "Ki was able to kill Erik while I was outside, and I found out afterward, and we worked together. Is it really hard to understand?"

 _NO THAT'S WRONG!_

Vonda's eyes widened and sharply turned her neck, almost causing whiplash, at the ultimate sculptor.

"I wanted to keep this silent so we could solve the case together, but guess I have to say it," Akira said with a serious look on his face. Romeo glanced at the sculptor with confusion on his face. "You guys all know I'm blind, but I have a great sense of hearing."

Ki shook her head in fear. "P-Please don't tell me..."

Akira smirked at the actress and alchemist. "I heard everything. We were on the same floor, so what makes you think I DIDN'T hear anything?"

Shinobu shivered in uneasiness. "I don't like this side of Akira. It's fucking scary..."

"I-Is this... What you wanted to tell us during the investigation before we got interrupted?" Mami asked. Akira rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Duh! I have a good ear! Gotta make up for my disability right?" The sculptor said, causing the singer to sadly smile.

Sora had a scary glint in her eyes, which Akira took notice of and bluntly asked, "What?"

"Why bring this up now?" Sora said with the growl of a hungry tiger waiting for the right moment to attack its prey. "You know damn well we could've ended the trial way earlier if you haven't opened your fucking mouth-,"

She began to stomp over when a hand grabbed hers. The kunoichi felt the soft, pampered skin of the person's hand before turning around.

"Let's hear him out. He might have a good reason that we don't understand," Shinobu said. It was unlike her to be this caring, but Sora cursed under her breath and obeyed.

Akira cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ehehe... Sorry I didn't tell you guys. I'm an ass I know, but I did actually hear what happened. It all went down like this, so remember carefully."

 _A high pitched voice echoed, "W-What are you doing? You're not-,"_

 _Then a strikingly lower voice boomed, "V-... Don't take another step... Please."_

 _"Like hell I'm not!" the girlish voice replied again. "Don't do this. We can do this without having to resort to murder. I've loved you and hated you for years and you think I'm just going to sit by eating popcorn?"_

"Then I heard some sort of struggle, with some sort of argument in between," Akira said with less confidence in every word. "Then I heard a crash, most likely from the wine bottle we talked about. Then... I heard a muffled scream and running footsteps."

 _"W-What happened!? Y-You bastard!" a different female voice said._

 _"I-I don't know. I don't know..." the terrified voice sniffled and cried. "I don't know!"_

 _The other female voice slowed her breathing and calmed the crying girl. "S-Sorry for calling you... bastard. B-But if you need help, you have to stop crying."_

"That's all I could hear..." Akira adjusted his sunglasses. "Sorry for not being much help..."

Yuzuru smiled nervously. "N-No! You were a big help. You are a much better help than I was, giving a shit autopsy..."

"Stop blaming yourselves!" Chiari complained. "We have the new info now, done!"

"Tch... I hate this..." Ichirou pouted.

Sousuke interjected and turned to Akira. "I-I assume the higher pitched voice from the start, argued with Erik, who is the lower voice. It seems like from the argument, Erik was planning to commit... suicide," the archer said quietly, fearing for the worst after that last word.

"I had enough!" Vonda said with the eyes of a psychopath. "Don't you dare speak about suicide!"

"Von-," Ki said before being interrupted by Chiari.

"Oh! So you mean that the killer was Erik himself?" Chiari asked.

"Not exactly. Akira mentioned a struggle going in between, which means that the person with the high voice was trying to take the bottle away from Erik, before the bottle accidentally hitting him in the head," Naoki said. "And judging by the reaction of the girl, it means whoever that was during the struggle accidentally slipped and killed him."

"H-Hey! Isn't that too big of an assumption?" Romeo asked.

"Why don't we ask the 'killer'?" Naoki glanced towards Ki. "Was the high pitched voice you? Or not?"

Ki looked down at her feet, too scared to say anything.

"WELL!? Say something!" Vonda was losing her edge and broke from her calm demeanor. "Ki! Are you listening?"

Sousuke saw the alchemist trembling from the pressure, almost as if she was about to shatter like ice at any second. "Ki, it's okay. You can tell us the truth. We're not forcing you to say anything."

"Buu, buu! Tiiiime's up!" Monokuma interrupted, with his arms forming a cross. "Vote or die time! Will you vote for Ki? Or Vonda? Upupu, the fun awaits!"

"Noo! They need more time!" Monomi exchanged nervous glances with the lucky student, who clenched her fists in anger.

"But, can't we go over the case one more time?" Ayano glanced. "You never know if there is some stupid plothole that we haven't uncovered."

Ichirou grumbled and rolled his eyes realizing that his assumption was incorrect. Chiari nodded and pushed up her glasses with her pointer finger. Taking a breath to calm herself down, she stammered as she spoke.

 **Act One**

 _"When we've all received a threat from Monokuma, we began to assume that there was a control room that controls the direction of the boat, hoping that there was some way we could steer the boat away from the 'iceberg' that Monokuma mentioned. We each formed into groups:_ _Naoki, myself, Sora, Ki, Yuzuru, and Shinobu searched the main lobby, while Mami, Ayano, Sousuke, Ichirou, Vonda, Erik, and Akira searched the ballroom and second floor. But what we didn't know... w-was that someone was planning to end their own... t-the..."_

Tears once again escaped her eyes. Her throat closed off, unable to make any sounds other than gibberish and sharp breaths. Mami noticed this and nudged Naoki to continue while Ayano "attempted" to comfort her with her favorite Tamagotchis, which only made Chiari feel worse because the creatures are "too cute" and "too innocent" to be stuck in a killing game. The lawyer gave a sympathetic smile to the ginger and continue speaking on her behalf.

 _"Ahem... Erik, our ultimate magician, was planning to commit suicide to save all of us."_

 **Act Two**

 _"As soon as we all dispersed to our individual locations, Mami changed locations and went to the bathrooms, which Ayano can vouch for her. Because of the location change, we were unaware of Erik sneaking to the old bar. He grabbed his main weapon: an empty wine bottle. Before he could manage to successfully carry out his plan, his own sister, or Ki, but we're still confirming that, accidentally ran into him. And based on Akira's account, we can tell this person was very shocked and furious._

"W-Wait! I got it!" Chiari's sleeves wiped away her tears and Ayano raised her eyebrow, only to analyze the ginger's face and realize what she realized. The information broker yawned but with a hint of a grin, returned to her stand.

"R-Remember what Akira said what the girl stated!? The part where she said, 'I've loved you and hated you for years...' O-Only a person who has lived with him or has been close friends with him in order for her to say that!" Chiari said a little too quickly, only for her brain to catch up with her realizing what she just said. Vonda stood there, not making a single noise, then she sputtered silently...

"Go on. Continue the summary. I'm not stopping you anymore..." Vonda said, her voice filled with regret.

"Vonda..." Ki sighed. "I'm sorry..."

 _"After... Vonda protested, Erik hesitated no longer. As he began to swing the bottle to his head, Vonda sprinted and grabbed the bottle and attempted to take it out of her hands. They struggled and fought, but then, what I'm assuming, slipped her hand and hit Erik with the bottle by accident. He then laid cold dead on the ground."_

 **Act Three**

 _"The other girl, which is now confirmed as Ki, heard the noise and exited her assigned location and saw what happened. At first, Ki was going to alert the others, but seeing Vonda's traumatized state, she decided to at least help her out, which eventually led to her becoming her accomplice. Based on the place where the water bottles were and Akira's statement, we can safely confirm that. Ki quickly grabbed to water bottles from the cafeteria's kitchen and the mop and bucket to mop up the blood. They dumped the bucket of bloodied water into the pool since they had little time to properly destroy evidence. The water bottles and broken pieces of the wine bottle were thrown away in the trash, and Erik's corpse was moved into the spa room. Little did they know that they made a big mistake doing so, as the spa door was a big key in this mystery._

 **Conclusion**

 _"Vonda, with her acting skills, pretended to scream so that we would come upstairs while Ki pretended to be the first one there. Now the entire truth is revealed."_

"Vonda Sammada. Is that all, or did I miss something?" Naoki said sternly. Vonda said nothing but just nodded her head.

Ki rubbed her arm and said nothing as well. Of course, even with their fights, she never considered Vonda as an enemy, so why didn't she say anything to object?

"Pathetic..." Ichirou murmured under his breath, along with receiving a stare from Yuzuru, who was shocked at Ichirou's apathy.

The doctor said in a slightly louder voice, "I-I don't think that very nice you bi-,"

"Motherfucker! You guys just don't stop talking don't you!?" Monokuma said, visibly irritated. "Well SHUT UP an VOTE UP! 'Cause it's time to pick our test subject for our execution!"

The screen on each stand lit up with the icons of every student, with the three dead students having blood crosses blurring them out. Chiari's finger shook and pressed the icon of Vonda. A loading screen appeared waiting for the others to enter their votes. Straightforward people like Ayano and Naoki pressed in their responses immediately, while the culprits, Ki and Vonda hesitated before placing in their vote. The screens turned off, and on the big television, was analyzing them.

"Now! Since you dimwits finally voted, let see the results!" Monokuma pressed a big red button for the results to be presented on the screen. And one by one the portraits appeared along with the number of votes per student. Chiari was surprised that one person still voted for Romeo, and it obviously was Ichirou, who was not pleased with himself and the other students. Vonda received the most votes, with Ki having a few as well.

A drumroll came from the speakers and then followed with a ding effect like when you win a game show. Confetti fell from the sky, zooming into Vonda's portrait. The actress flinched when Ki went beside her.

"N-No! This can't be happening!" Monomi and Chiari cried in unison.

"Vonda..." Akira sighed. "Sorry 'bout ratting you out." Romeo gave Akira a pat on the shoulder, saying it's not his fault.

"Fucking finally! Yes! Vonda is indeed the culprit!" Monokuma sighed in relief, although it might've been overexaggerated. "Can I press the execution button or no? I'm ITCHING to see despair on your ugly faces!"

Sousuke clenched his teeth. "You... Bastard..."

"Oh, what's that? Can hear you over the DESPAIR you're feeling!" Monokuma said in a savage tone. The archer pulled back but glanced worriedly at the alchemist and the actress.

Monokuma turned to Vonda to ask if she had any last words before she met her eventual doom, meaning death. The actress clenched her fists that they almost bled, itching to get a chance to claw his face off. It was his fault. He was the one who motivated Erik to die. He was the one who even gave Erik these thoughts. But she didn't lash out. It would only make the situation worse.

"Just give me my punishment..." Vonda said in a low, raspy voice.

"Alrighty then!" Monokuma smirked. "And now, Super High School Level Actress, Vonda Sammada! Iiiiiit's punishment time!"

Those were the words Chiari didn't want to hear again. Before she could run up and take the gavel from his paw, Naoki and Ayano grabbed both of her hands and restrained her from making any rash decisions. The only thing left Chiari could do was scream, and that's what she, and the alchemist, Ki, did.

 **Vonda Sammada was Found Guilty. Time for the Punishment!**

A trap door beneath her opened up and Vonda's eyes widened as she fell into the dark abyss. Ki covered her mouth in disbelief and her face lost color. Her body moved by itself. And before she could resist herself, her legs had a mind of its own, and she jumped in herself.

Mami screamed and her body began to shake. "I-Is she out o-of her m-mind!?"

"Are they inseparable!? That was the most unnecessary thing to do!" Shinobu shouted while grabbing her hair, accidentally messing up her hair.

"Ki!" Sousuke and Chiari yelled into the hole, but no answer. The widescreen turned on once again, revealing Vonda, in a royal prince's outfit. It was decorated in gold, and a red cape flowed to her ankles. On her head displayed a dashing golden crown. Her hair was tied into a single braid. She was on a grand stage, with red velvet chairs and balcony seats.

 **Vonda's Debut!: Rapunzel Meets Grim... Fate!**

Monokuma appeared front and center on the screen, carrying a clapboard with the letters: Act 1: Scene: 1. As he clapped it, something rumbled, causing the whole stage, even the trial room to shake. What surprised Vonda is that a giant clapboard appeared, threateningly snapping its top as if it was going to snap her head off. Vonda slowly backed away, trying to remain tranquil as possible. Suddenly, it rushed at her, and she luckily dodged it, causing the clapboard to smash into the velvet seats.

As if Vonda's pleas were answered, a long braid of hair fell from the sky, and Vonda climbed it to escape. But the farther she climbed up the braid, the clapboard came back and snapped a piece of that braid off, chasing her to eventually snap her in half. This motivated Vonda to climb faster and faster, only for the clapboard to go faster as well, with her ears full of the noises of chopping hair.

Eventually, she didn't think she was at the stage anymore, but a tower appeared where the hair originated from. And she could recognize the face that had that hair. It was Ki, who wore a pink, frilly princess dress. Her mouth was covered to prevent her to scream, or even talk. Ropes restrained her body. Ki shook her head, telling her to not come any closer. Vonda didn't catch on and continued climbing as the clapboard is almost to her feet. But before she could finally rest in the stone tower, a sharp stab was felt from her back, she turned around, seeing a knife impaling her body. Luckily, it didn't reach her heart or lungs. A Monokuma pushed Ki aside and cut the remaining hair above the actress, causing her to fall straight down, avoiding the clapboard. Ki removed the ropes and the cloth from her mouth and jumped after her, which left the Monokuma in surprise.

Ki opened her eyes after the impact, which wasn't as bad as she thought. But as she opened her eyes, there was a whole sea of thorn bushes on the ground. What softened her impact was the body of Vonda, who was already covered with thorns stabbing her body, killing her instantly with the poison in them. Ki's face paled, and let out the most blood-curdling scream. The screen turned black, displaying the words: That's a wrap!

 **Execution: End**

 **Students Left: 12**

Chiari dropped to her knees. This couldn't be happening. Not to her friends... But she stood up again and clenched her fists. She forced a smile while crying tears.

"W-We must keep going for V-Vonda! W-We can, only... hope..."

Only for her to sob along with most of the students.

* * *

 **I'm terribly sorry this trial was written so poorly. But I hope there are no holes. Personally, I felt like the assumptions and conclusions were rushed, but I hope to improve in the future. I plan to use fewer game mechanics as well unless it's needed.**

 **Also, I want to give a shoutout to DeadLyokoBrony. Vonda was a great character to have around, and I will write a special chapter for both siblings to celebrate these two. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long as this one.**

 **Also, I'm setting a poll as to what you guys want for the 3rd floor of the cruise, as I have 3 ideas going for it, so I need your help to decide! Go to my profile and pick one option you'd like. The poll will close on the 15th of June.**

 **Happy killing! Upupupu~**


	25. Special Chapter: Erik, Vonda

**Since Vonda and Erik are no longer with us, this is a special chapter to celebrate their time on the cruise.**

* * *

Vonda always loved the comfort of her own home, but that all changed when her mother and father got into an accident.

An accident that would change her and her brother's life forever.

They were murdered right in front of their eyes. Vonda's eyes watered, and her brother hushed her to keep quiet to prevent the killer from realizing he wasn't alone.

After getting that killer behind bars, Vonda showed no sympathy towards that person. She wanted him to suffer in that jail. She wanted her parents' killer to **die**. As his sister, Vonda remained calm after that killer was put under a life sentence because she knew that her brother was in pain as well. She had to stay strong.

They were put in an orphanage for the longest she could remember. Kids were playing recklessly, telling stories, and hearing for the one-hundredth time: _"Boys have cooties!" "Girls are disgusting!"_ which ticked her off. They just went on with their life innocently not knowing what harsh life they went through. Divorce, leaving their children, doesn't compare to the blood-thirsty murderer that twisted the siblings' fate.

A cop entered the orphanage, and a bunch of kids huddled in the corner, scared of what's going to happen. Were they getting arrested? Are they relocating to another orphanage? Or is he about to shut the place down? Erik stood in front of Vonda to protect her, like a superhero protecting a victim. The officer politely received some papers and thanked the employee. He walked over and opened the door to the room the kids were staying, and gestured the two siblings to come over. Vonda glared at the man. He was tall and muscular, his hair was messy, and he had a stern face. _Who does this person think he is?_ Erik thought while Vonda continued to stare at him.

The officer shrugged his shoulders and walked closer to the boy, holding out his hand. Erik narrowed his eyes but grabbed his hand, and they went to their new home. The officer's name was Satoshi Sammada.

A few years had passed, and Vonda was still unsure of this man. He did try to play with them and provide for them as much as possible, but he was nothing compared to her birth father, who tucked them in every night and read them bedtime stories.

When their "father" went to work, Vonda watched cartoons on TV, while Erik had some saved up money from his allowance to see a magician show for kids, and left Vonda home alone, which she didn't really care about. The TV was a bit old and had a small crack, but it still ran well. After switching the channels, she found a cartoon that caught her eye. It mesmerized her for so long. The characters' voices, actions, and the emotions were spectacular that a glimmer sparked in her eyes. She didn't know how much time has passed until her brother came home jumping up and down in excitement.

"Vonda! That magician was awesome! You should've seen it!" Erik said excitedly, which Vonda didn't really pay attention. "Do you think I can become like that guy!?"

Vonda nodded feeling dazed. The brother pouted at his sister's lack of attention and ran to his room to practice his magic from the free complementary kit he got at the show. Vonda has then decided.

She was going to become an actress. Voice actress, live, it didn't matter. As long as it got her out of this hellhole she's stuck in.

* * *

 _"Vonda? Little sis, can you hear me!?"_

It is now present day. I'm stuck on a cruise with my incompetent older brother because this fucked up bear wanted us to kill each other. I don't know why I even accepted this invitation to Hope's Peak. I was already successful, wealth wise and life wise. And now people like Chiari and Mami were panicking while people like Ayano and Ichirou didn't give two shits.

"What do you want, Erik?" I said, avoiding eye contact with him. We were in my bedroom, which was decent at least. I don't call him "ONEE-CHAN" so don't ask.

"C'mon! Your room is a mess! How could you survive living in a dump like this!?" Erik flicked my forehead, which really hurt by the way. He then proceeded to pick up my scripts that apparently remained in my suitcase after waking up on the cruise. Costumes were on my bed and he touched them with his meaty hands and put them back in the closet.

"No, that's your OCD talking," I teased. Erik's face turned red as he made sure my dresses were in a proper color scheme. I had to admit, it was fun having him around to embarrass him from time to time.

After he finished cleaning my room, he then pulled out my bag and rummaged through it and pulled out a DVD. It was one of those movies with very bad and cheesy acting, but Erik begged me to bring anyway. He put the disk into the DVD player and turned on the TV. The logo appeared, and some piracy crap showed up before the actual movie played. Erik rushed downstairs to the kitchen in the cafeteria where he received strange looks from Shinobu and a glare from Sora and prepared a bowl of strawberries, his favorite fruit (this is irony, he's actually preparing strawberries for Vonda), and ran back upstairs just in time for the character introductions to start.

"I could hear your footsteps all the way up here," I sneered. Erik rolled his eyes and handed me a strawberry, which I took and popped into my mouth.

"The characters are kids. I can tell when they make any mistakes. Like for example, this kid accidentally looks at the camera before saying the rest of his lines," I criticized. One thing that made Erik pissed off is when I criticized the acting in the movies we watch, which ruins the movie for him, but it's an actress' job, and I couldn't help it.

"Oh shut up," Erik groaned and raised the volume, which irritated me. I reached for the remote, but as usual, Erik was way taller than me and was able to keep the remote away from me.

But being the actress I am, I was able to always win these games by manipulating him. I prepared myself and proceeded to fake cry in front of my brother.

"Y-You're so mean!" I stammered, pretending to be hurt by his actions. "M-My ears hurt! C-Could you please turn it down!"

Erik resisted most of the time, but that is until I always play the trump card. "I-If you don't, I'll never call you b-big brother anymore!"

"Alright, alright!" Erik sighed in defeat and turned down the volume, which my ears thanked me for.

Before I could do anything else, a giggle escaped my mouth. "Love ya, Erik," I said softly.

Erik smirked and ruffled my hair. "You too, little sis!"

* * *

 **Short chapter, but a memorable chapter. I hope this meets your expectations, DeadLyokoBrony, and I hope you continue reading!**

 **Update: Fixed the strawberry issue. Thanks for pointing that out Brony.**


	26. Chapter 3-1: Trauma (Preview and Update)

**Wow... It has been a while. And I have no excuses honestly. I've lost a bit of interest on this series. But no it's not dead. To apologize for being absent, I give you a preview of the next chapter until it is actually complete. Again, I'm sorry for not posting for a while.**

* * *

Chiari couldn't believe what her eyes are seeing. Vonda is now lying in a sea of thorn bushes, poison injecting into her body, and Ki, who fainted on top of her from shock.

"Geez! Ki HAD to ruin the fun! I was hoping to kill both of them!" Monokuma threw a tantrum.

"Shut the fuck up," Sora raised her fist as a threat.

"T-This is really happening... Monokuma, you bastard," Sousuke threw his hood over his head and bit his lip.

"NO! NO! Let them go! Bring Vonda and Ki back!" Chiari rushed to the screen and hit it with both of her fists simultaneously until her hands started to bruise. Ayano grabbed her left fist before she did anything rash.

The broker scoffed. "You think hitting the screen will solve all of your problems dumbass?" she said bluntly. Chiari wept and banged her hands on the screen and stood there, not moving an inch. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of crying and silence from some, the lucky student turned around and hugged Ayano as tightly as she could. Time has stopped for the small broker, and eventually, Ayano returned the embrace reluctantly, sighing.

Finally, Monokuma shrugged his shoulders. "Well, can't do anything 'bout that now! She was basically signing her death wish when she jumped in, so it's her loss!" he said apathetically.

"Y-You're terrible!" Mami's face paled and screamed. She trembled and her legs gave out on her. Shinobu began to shake and closed her eyes to avoid tears, while Sora began to act like a gentlewoman and tried to comfort her with soothing words.

Yuzuru clenched his fist. "That's inhumane..." Ichirou glanced at the doctor from that statement and looked down at the floor.

Romeo's breathing quickened and rubbed his eyes. "It's not real... It's not real..."

Akira heard Romeo and sensed a panic attack, so instead of trembling like he did when he heard Reiko's execution. He forced out a joke. "It's a-alright Romeo! You're alright! Ehehe, I wish I could've given my blindless to you so you didn't have to see that!" Romeo didn't smile, but he calmed down from the sculptor's voice and sat on the floor, with Akira following.

But Naoki had the most bizarre reaction. His eyes narrowed at the demented bear. "According to the rules, only the blackened will be executed. Ki was an accomplice sure, but she wasn't the one who actually murdered Erik. Even you can't break your own rules, right Monokuma?"

"Grrrr!" Monokuma growled, realizing Naoki was manipulating him to bring Ki back. "Fine! But her legs are injured from the fall, so she needs medical attention! And I'm NOT the one who's going to nurse her like a goddamn mother until she gets better."

Yururu raised his hand. "I'll take care of her. But I need someone else to watch over her when I can't be there for he-,"

"I'll do it," Sousuke interrupted. "I'll take care of her." He said nobly.

"Poor Vonda..." Shinobu whispered. "Ki would be traumatized after this. The murder was only an accident..."

Everyone was ordered by Monokuma to get on the elevator and back to the lobby. During the travel up, he announced a new floor coming tomorrow on the time the morning announcements come. Nobody even muttered a reply. Their hopes of escaping diminished.

* * *

"Is she awake?" Chiari asked, hovering over Ki who was unconscious. She worriedly glanced at Yuzuru and began to nervously fidget with her hands.

Yuzuru sadly shook his head. "U-Unfortunately, no. I had to knock her unconscious with a sleeping drug because she began to scream and flail when Monokuma handed her over to me. I managed to wrap her legs in a temporary cast until I can find materials for a long-lasting one. I-I'm sorry I couldn't be that useful."

Mami reassuringly put her hand on the doctor's shoulder. "Y-You've done everything y-you could. I-I'm glad she's a-alright." She smiled shyly, causing Yuzuru to blush and rub the back of his neck. The patient sharply pulled her arm back from the touch of the doctor's hand.

Time has passed for so long, that they even ignored the nighttime announcement in the back of their ears. Slowly, one by one, everyone except Yuzuru, Sousuke, Naoki, and Chiari left the infirmary, staring at Ki's unconscious body.

"I'm sorry."

Naoki looked up to see Chiari forcing to smile while staring at the alchemist. "If I hadn't organized the teams better, or looked out for Erik, none of this would've happened. I-I'm stupid aren't I?"

Naoki's eyes narrowed, and out of instinct, his hand raised. Sousuke and Yuzuru's eyes widened as he slapped Chiari on the cheek, causing her to knock back a few steps back. Her glasses fell from the force and managed to gracefully hit the ground.

The ginger raised her fingers to feel her cheek, which was still stinging from the impact, and her emotions went out of control.

"I want e-everyone to get along! I try s-so hard!" Chiari stammered, forcing the tears to remain in her eyes. Her vision blurred from the water. "W-Why can't we just be happy!?"

"Shut up," Naoki said directly, but his expression softened when he saw how much of a wreck Chiari was. "Erik's death and Vonda's execution was out of your control. You can't say it's your fault. Erik made that decision by himself to die. Nobody but himself is responsible."

The lucky student stumbled into Naoki's chest, laying her head on his shoulder. The lawyer sighed deeply and wrapped his arms around her. Tears soaked Naoki's shirt, but he didn't let go. Chiari raised her head and whispered, "Thanks... I need that..." She shook out of Naoki's grasp and beamed, her face red and her hair a mess. "I-I promise I won't blame myself for unnecessary stuff ever again. Imma' get some macarons and some milk as a bedtime snack! I didn't realize I was starving! Ehehe.." Chiari teased the lawyer childishly before running out of the room.

Naoki could read her face. She was lying to herself. She was only acting happy to make himself feel better. He wanted to stop her, but seeing as she at least felt a little bit better, he let it go, seeing as pressing it would only make it worse.

"I'll go on ahead to my room," Yuzuru smiled at the heartwarming scene. He turned to Sousuke. "You make sure she doesn't get out of control, and if she does..." Yuzuru's finger hesitated as he pointed at the syringe filled with liquid. "That'll make her fall back asleep. But that's only a last resort. An overdose will kill her, so only use it if there's no other option."

Sousuke nodded as he understood the situation. He sat down on one of the stools.

Outside of the infirmary, Mami was waiting for the lucky student to leave, along with Sora and Ayano. Chiari asked why they were there. Ayano then complained that Mami insisted, and despite being awkward and shy, managed to persuade for them to wait for her. Sora didn't complain, as she was extremely polite to women, but Ayano kept rubbing her eyes and kept saying that she's exhausted.

Sora sympathetically held Chiari's hands. "We heard the commotion in the infirmary. So I wanted to say that I will support you no matter what, Yamamoto, Chiari."

Ayano yawned. "Shit, you're too much like a gentleman, Sora. Loosen up..."

Sora cleared her throat harshly like a warning to the broker, which didn't affect her at all. Mami, with her free hand, wrapped her arm around Chiari's shoulders.

"T-This is what people d-do when they w-want to show a-affection, the old-fashioned w-way," Mami stammered more than usual. Ayano could tell that Mami's pale face was heating up and judging by that, she knew that Mami had at least some feelings for Chiari, but kept that to herself.

The lucky student snorted, then turned into a giggle from the duo's foolish attempts to cheer her up, which certainly did. "Thanks, guys... I-I appreciate it. Don't worry! I'm gonna be alright! As I said to Naoki, a little bedtime snack of macarons and milk will always cheer me up!"

Ayano sighed while shoving her console back into her bag. "You're such a glutton, Chi-chan-"

"Did you just call me that!?" Chiari said enthusiastically. "You're finally calling me a nickname, Aya-p! I'm so happy!"

Ayano realized her mistake. "Jesus Christ... It's just a habit between me and my childhood fr-, nevermind." She said no more and sprinted back to her room, cursing under her breath for making such a stupid remark.

Sora also went back to her room with a slightly manly walk and closed the door behind her. As soon as everyone was gone, Mami frowned.

"A-Are you sure you don't n-need to talk?" Mami asked, reading the sadness on Chiari's face. "You d-don't have to keep this u-up."

The ginger smiled and shook her head. "No, Naoki and you always help me in sticky situations, so I can't be ungrateful and sob all day. I know everyone is suffering just as much as I am after the deaths of the siblings, so I should keep going even if I cry. I guess that's called... hope." Chiari said in a serious tone, which wasn't like her usual self. "Well, I'm going to bed! See ya in the morning!" She ran out of Mami's arm to her room. The purplette grinned.

 _T-That's our C-Chiari_ she thought. The blood rushed up to her face and a chill went down her spine. _W-What is this feeling?_ Her heart began to beat quickly, almost as if her body was breaking down and rising to heaven. She felt this way before... In the hospital with a certain nurse. _I-Is this... Love?_ She covered her face in embarrassment. _I-I have feelings for her... I-I have feelings for Chiari!_ Her thoughts swirled in her brain. She shook it off and went back to her room to replace her IV pack, with the girl in the back of her mind.

* * *

Sousuke yawned for the fourth time in a row, trying his hardest not to fall asleep. His blurry eyes focused on Ki, who slept peacefully. His thoughts went back to Vonda's execution. He felt nothing but contempt and anger for the bear. Why did they have to endure such a traumatizing event, when they haven't done anything wrong? He hoped that one day that he could find the mastermind behind this and murder that son of a bitch, although he is too weak and fragile to do it himself, which he hated to admit.

"I'm powerless..." He sighed. But apparently, those words were loud enough to reach the alchemist's ears and it woke her up.

"O-Oh. I'm sorry for waking you up," Sousuke apologized. "Do your legs feel better?"

Ki's eyes scanned across her body until they reached her legs, all wrapped up in stiff bandages. _Legs broken, long fall, execution, Vonda._ As soon as her thoughts reached to Vonda, her breathing quickened and her heart beat faster. She was about to scream before the archer quickly covered her mouth.

"Shhh, calm down," Sousuke said as if calming down a crying baby. "Please talk to me calmly. What's wrong?"

Slowly, Ki's movements stopped, and her breathing returned to normal. "Nightmare... Erik... Vonda... My fault..."

"Don't say that," Sousuke said firmly. "It's all M-Monokuma's fault. He's the one that placed the motive that made Erik want to kill himself. You're not the one to blame."

 _Come to think of it, I overheard something between Chiari and Romeo. Something about a nightmare..._ Sousuke thought. But assuming that it was just because of Ki's trauma, he put that thought to the back of his head to ask Chiari later and put the frail girl's comfort as his main priority.

"Ah! Y-You must be hungry!" Sousuke exclaimed. He reached the counter and grabbed some bread in a plastic wrap and a bottle of water. "Here. This is what I could find from the cafeteria. It's some melonpan, nothing too fancy. I-I hope you can at least stomach this."

The alchemist's hands shook, crumbling the plastic in the process, and tore the plastic to reveal the sweet, warm smell of the bread. She absolutely despised brittle bread, but it felt light and crisp. Before it could slip out of her weak fingers, she took a small bite. It was nothing like she ever tasted before. It certainly didn't taste like melon but more like a soft, greasy, fluffy cookie, something similar to what a grandmother bakes at home. She never had this at her tribe before, except that one time...

 _"Well? Nothing like you had at the tribe, huh?" her mother, Hayashi Akamori smiled as a young Ki was fascinated on the sweet, moist taste in her mouth._

 _"It's delicious!" Ki said, bread still in her mouth, making her words incomprehensible._

 _Her mother laughed and handed her a napkin. "Woah, woah! Slow down! I don't want you to choke on your food! It's called pumpkin bread. I learned the recipe from someone in America."_

 _After swallowing, she chugged a whole cup of milk and began to cough. "S-Sorry... It tasted so good. I-I never had this kind of stuff before!"_

 _"Well you're not going to say those words anymore once I bake a crap ton of it!" her mother said with confidence. Child Ki admired her mother's confidence and nodded happily in response._

 _"I love you!" Ki suddenly said, before covering her mouth in embarrassment. The mother giggled and replied..._

 _"I love you too."_

Ki swallowed her last bite before taking a sip of lukewarm water to clear her throat. "W-Why are you being nice to me? I did something terrible... V-V-Vonda is now gone thanks to me."

Sousuke put some thought before coming up with an answer. "Because... I guess that I know you shouldn't be blamed for any of this, and you need to have some support to tell you that I'm here for you. I-I'm sorry, that wasn't a very good answer. What I meant to say is... that I want to be your support, a friend. Monokuma's the bastard that caused you to do those things, and I want us to get out of here together to show him that we're unstoppable. All of us."

Ki couldn't help but hide her incoming smile. "T-That was so cheesy..."

Sousuke blushed. "Ehehe... I'm sorry again?"

"B-But thanks. I needed that I guess," Ki sighed.

 _"Well, well, well? What do we have here!?"_

"Gah!" Ki and Sousuke gasped in shock.

Monokuma burst out laughing. "BAHAHAHAHA! You should've seen the look on your faces! Fucking hilarious!" Eventually calming down, he smirked at Sousuke's unamused face. "Now, Sousuke. What have you done to innocent, little Ki?"

Sousuke realized what the bear was implying and became flustered. "What!? N-No! What the hell runs through your mind!?"

"Did you get all hot and steamy?" Monokuma swayed his body back and forth. "Used your words to seduce her to become vulnerable and weak? Damn, Sousuke you sly bastard! I bet you will hit a home run if you manage to have se-."

"Shut up!" Sousuke growled angrily. "We have no reason to talk to you after what you have done."

 **(Preview End)**


End file.
